Animal Art

African Elephant

(Loxodonta africana)

The African elephant genus Loxodonta is composed of two species, the African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). The African Forest Elephant has a longer and narrower mandible, rounder ears, a different number of toenails, different tusks, and considerably smaller size. An adult male savannah elephant -- the largest land mammal in the world -- weighs about 12,000 pounds and stands roughly 10 feet tall at the shoulder. The smaller forest elephant weighs 10,000 pounds at most. Both male and female African elephants have tusks.

This colored pencil rendering reflects the long years of this African elephants reign. Wildlife artist Kathie Miller has skillfully captured this emotional moment in time.