African vs. Asian Elephants

You can tell by height, weight, wrinkles and ears! 

• The African elephant is significantly larger, with bulls growing up to 13 ft tall. The biggest Asian males reach no more than 11m 
• Adult Asian males weigh between 6,600-13,000lbs. The smallest African elephant weighs more than the largest Asian elephants and they can get up to 16,500lbs.  
• African elephants have more wrinkles than Asian elephants.
• It is said that you can tell where an elephant comes from by looking at the size of his ears. African ears are like a map of Africa and Asian ears smaller like the shape of India. African ears are much bigger and reach up and over the neck. (Read more.)

Explore Asian elephants in India.

One hump or two? 

The one with two:

Bactrian - “B” shaped: The single hump for these guys works in the same way as their brethren, “storing fat which can be converted to water and energy… Bactrian camels live not in shifting Sahara sands but in Central and East Asia’s rocky deserts. Temperatures in these locales can become searingly hot—over 100°F (38°C) in summer. Yet they can also drop to –20°F (-29°C) in winter. 
Bactrian camels have developed special adaptations to allow them to survive in such a brutal environment. One is a thick, shaggy coat that protects them in winter and falls away as seasons change and temperatures rise.
The only truly wild camels that still exist are Bactrian camels. These herds survive in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China but number less than 1,000.” (Nat Geo) 

Visit more of India’s animals.