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African bush elephant
The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is the larger of the two species of African Elephants. Both elephants, previously classified as the exact same species, now prove different based from recent preliminary evidence which re-classifies the forest elephant as a separate and distinct species (although this status is not conclusively accepted due to concerns over conservation strategies until the re-classification is formalized).

The African bush elephant has many distinctive features that sets it apart from the forest elephant. The bush elephant is much larger in height and weight, while the forest elephant has rounder ears and their trunk tends to be more hairy. The bush elephant has few predators, but still remains to be labeled an endangered species, mostly because of poaching. Their roaming has been limited to only specific areas, since they have been known for destruction of crops and landscape in certain areas. However they still travel in herds, with females being the primary leaders. These elephants are known for being hunted for their tusks, ears, feet, and meat, so the population of bush elephants in the world have been increasingly declining.

Taxonomy
The African Bush Elephant, considered once to be one in the same as the African Forest Elephant, shows recent evidence which confirms the two species as separate, being distinct cousins who split anywhere between 2 to 7 million years ago. They used to be known as a single species, the African elephant, but studies has shown that the two are different. Although separate species, both elephants are of the genus Loxodonta, and is part of the Elephantidae Family. Subspecies include the South African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta Africana Africanna), East African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta Africana knochenhaueri), Ethiopian Elephant (Loxodonta Africana orleansi), and West African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta Africana oxyotis).

Characteristics and Anatomy
The African Bush Elephant has several distinct features which sets them apart from other similar species. They are generally larger than the African Forest Elephant, which has rounder ears and straighter tusks. The Bush Elephant is known to have a concave back with stocky legs and a thickset body, compared to the Asian elephant who has a convex back. The African bush elephant’s trunk has more than 40,000 muscles and tendons, being able to lift heavy objects. They tend to have dull brownish-grey skin that is wrinkly with black bristly hairs, large ears, and a long and flattened tail. The skull of the African elephant is very large, making up twenty-five percent of its total body weight. The estimated population size is near 300,000, and they usually live up to 70 years in age when in the wild. However in captivity, they tend to only live up 65 years.

Molars and Trunks
African elephants utilize their long trunks and four large molars to break down and consume a large bulk of plants, shrubs, twigs, and branches. In particular, African elephants use their trunks to strip leaves, break branches, dismantle tree bark, unearth roots, drink water, and even bathe. Without their trunks, these elephants would find their everyday routine of bathing, drinking, and eating considerably more difficult. Their molars, aiding in the consumption and digestion process, measures nearly 10 cm wide and 30 cm long, gradually withering away until the age of 15. Towards the age of 30, their baby teeth, also known as their milk teeth, are replaced by a new set which are substantially larger and stronger. As these elephants age, their teeth undergo two more stages of growth, ages 40 and 65-70, until the animal eventually dies from an inability to appropriately feed.

Size and Speed
The African Bush Elephant is the largest elephant of the animal kingdom. They can weigh from 8,800 to 15,400 pounds, which makes them the heaviest mammal species on earth. On average, males are 3.2 meters (10.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and 6 tons (6.6 short tons) in weight, while females are relatively smaller at 2.6 meters (8.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and 3 tons (3.3 short tons) in weight. Elephants attain their maximum stature when they complete the fusion of long-bone epiphyses, occurring in males around the age of 40 and females around the age of 25. Their large size means that they have to consume around 50 gallons of water everyday in order to stay hydrated. The speed of the African elephant can vary, but the average top speed is 25 mph when running. They tend to be slow moving creatures, with an average pace of 6 km per hour when walking normally.

Behavior
Elephants have a limited range to roam freely throughout Africa, altering the mood and behavior of these elephant who may be trying to adapt to different environments. One sign of behavioral change can be noticed as aggression levels spike, typically knocking trees over while feeding. As these elephants roam, they typically travel in herds. Males are normally independent, and prior to sexual maturity will leave at birth, while most females will remain in the herd for their life. Herds tend to consist of 6 to 70 members. One instance where the behavior of an African Elephant alters is during a phase known as musth. An elephant entering musth is understood to be a physical state of aggression, particularly sexual, where an elephant mates and fights, lasting a period of 1 month or less.

Reproduction
Birthing of the African bush elephant hits their highest point just before the rainy season of each year. Females carry their young in the womb for about 22 months, known as the gestation period, and they normally give birth every five years. When born, calves can almost immediately walk to maximize their chances of survival, however they tend to be dependent on their mother for a few years after birth. Newborns tend to weigh around 90-120 kg, but the average weight is around 100 kg. Females also tend to reach sexual maturity at age 10, but they are most fertile from ages 25 to 45. The mating system of the African bush elephant is known as androgynous (promiscuous). This type of mating includes females and males both pairing with several others at a time, which is also known as polygamy.

Communication and Adaptation
African bush elephants have long tusks, up to eleven feet in length, which can be used to help them adapt to their surroundings. They use their tusks for digging, fighting, marking, and feeding, and can lift objects up to 400 pounds. Less-aggressive elephants are known to have larger tusks, being that they will be less likely to break them since they would use their tusks in a less damaging way. The bush elephant also uses their large, flat ears to create air currents. These air currents allow them to reduce their body heat and cool off during hot seasons of the year. Another cooling technique that is used is their trunk to squirt water over its body or throw dirt onto their backs to reduce sun and insect exposure. Their trunk, along with their mouth, also allows them breathe and pick up food or heavy objects. Although they spend most of their time roaming to look for food, they can communicate over long distances and use vocalists that even humans cannot hear. Other ways that the elephants communicate is through changes in posture and positions of the body. The present visual signals and messages through body movement, along with smell to remain in contact with other herd members.

Ecology and Social Behavior
The African bush elephant is a very active and social mammal, since they are constantly on the move in search of food. Males often fight with each other during mating season, however they are considered to be very loving and caring toward relatives. Bush elephants also have strong social bonds, and when their herds are faced with danger, they tend to form a close, protective circle around the young calves. The elephants also tend to use their trunks to engage in physical greetings and behaviors.

Range and Habitat
While migrating throughout Africa and other surrounding regions, African elephants are normally found in large quantities known as herds. Their leader, known as the Matriarch, is the oldest female elephant and is most commonly seen being followed by their babies and other females. These elephants are normally found roaming throughout the plains and grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, but due to agricultural expansion and an ability to easily adapt to different environments, they can also be found in a widespread of woodlands, dense forests, mountain slopes, oceanic beaches, and semi-arid deserts. Of these regions, African Elephants are specifically seen in Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola. They range from altitudes of sea-levels to high mountains, although populations have been said to be becoming increasingly less than before.

Diet
Being among the largest herbivores in the world, the African bush elephant spends a majority of their day grazing upon vast quantities of food and water. Spending on average 12-18 hours consuming up to 660 pounds of food and 30-50 liters of water per day, African elephants browse and scavenge in order to sustain their health and massive body weight. As water becomes scarce, African elephants utilize their trunks, feet, and tusks to dig holes in dry streams and lake beds in exchange for fresh water. Due to climatic change, the diet of the African bush elephant will vary throughout the year. During seasons of prolonged rain, the diet of these elephant’s mainly consists of grass, berries, and vegetables. During seasons of prolonged drought, African elephants will browse and consume dry leaves, small shrubs, exposed roots, and withered tree bark, accounting for up to 70 percent of their diet. Due to their massive size, the consumption of every plant component, including dry leaves, small twigs, large branches, and other types of shrubs, are edible. In particular, African elephants find specific nutrients such as fatty acids and sodium through different sources of tree bark and salt licks.

Poaching
The African bush elephant is categorized as a high-risk endangerment animal, with the constant threat of poaching and predators on the rise. With the high demand for Ivory in Eastern Asia, the black-market trade network has left the species close to extinction. Poachers target the elephant’s tusk for the ivory, and in some cases remove the tusk while the elephant is still alive. CITES reports the black market is believed to be the main culprit for targeting around 17,000 elephants in various areas.

Currently the species has been pushed further into reaching the stage of extinction. Poaching of the elephant has dated back all the way to the years of 1970 and 1980, which was considered the largest killings in history. Unfortunately, the species is placed in harm's way due to the limited conservation areas provided in Africa. In most cases, the killings of the African bush elephant have occurred near the outskirts of the protected conversation sites. There has also been cases of poaching the African bush elephant for meat, which has also led to its decline. Areas found mostly in Central and Western Africa contain the greatest decline in the African bush elephants. IUCN’s statistical data concludes, the population has taken a great decline of 111,000.

Predators
Due to the immense size and power of the African elephant, predators of this species remains few. These predators, known to consist of humans, lions, hyenas, and crocodiles, prey upon smaller or newly born elephants. The newborn elephant, known as a calf, will normally stray from the herd at birth, placing themselves and their populations into a relatively low number for their species.Over the years, certain regions in Africa have been known to contain an abundant amount of the elephant carcasses. These graveyards are overpopulated by lions and hyenas who prowl and forage for the remains of an elephant corpse.

Human Disturbance
Human interference plays a major role in the drastic decline of the elephant species. Vast areas, making up Sub-Saharan Africa, were transformed to agricultural and  infrastructure use. The sudden disturbance among these areas leave the elephants without a stable habitat and limits their ability to roam freely. Large corporations associated with commercial logging and mining have stripped apart the land, giving poachers easy access to the African bush elephant.[11]  As human development grows, the human population faces the trouble of contact with the elephant’s more frequently, due to the species desperate need for food and water. Farmers residing in nearby areas trouble with the African bush elephants rummaging through their crops. In many cases, the elephants are killed instantly as they disturb a village or forage upon a farmer’s crop.

Legal Protection
The dramatic decline of the African bush elephant has resulted in various legal protections taking place in several states of Africa. Census reports show between the years of 2007 and 2014 there has been a decrease of 30% in the elephant's population. The current rate at which the population is declining, leaves researchers to believe every year the African bush elephant will decline by 8%. Certain measures focus primarily on encouraging habitat management and protection with legal action. These legal protections restrict the species from being harmed by poachers and other wildlife threats. Regions known as Range states, are responsible for ensuring certain areas inhabited by the species are preserved. The decline of the species was brought to attention worldwide in 1989. During this time, officials placed a ban stating the elephants could no longer be hunted for the ivory found in their tusks. Currently, many conservation areas are limited, and at least 70% of the species' range resides in areas which are not protected by the law.

Status
The population of the African bush elephants continues to gradually decrease. It has been reported that their current rate of decline is eight percent per year, mostly due to poaching. In most parts of the world this species is labeled as an endangered. Since 2004,the IUCN Red List considered the elephants to be an vulnerable species. On average scale there is a decline of 200,000 elephants based on the sudden increase of human populations occupying the habitats of the species. Estimates show the entire species could possibly go extinct in a decade.

The debate of whether the species should fall under the classes Appendix I or Appendix II species  has been argued between several regions. If a given region determines the African bush elephant to be Appendix I all international trade will be prohibited, but if the species is placed under Appendix II officials will only monitor and limit the amount of elephants traded in the black market. Areas found in Gabon and Congo are considered to contain the largest number of the African bush elephant population, while in parts of Central African Republic the species is entirely wiped out. The IUCN monitors the elephant's population regularly to understand what conservation methods are effective and the distribution among the population. The decline is beginning to show greatly across various countries, which leaves the existence of the population in question.