CommonNameElephant;Elephant(Fr);Elefante(Sp)

　　ScientificNameElephasmaximus(southernAsia),Loxodontaafricana(Africa)

　　LocationAfrica,Asia

　　Theselargeandmagnificentcreaturesneedalotoffoodandfreedomiftheyaretosurvive.Theywanderinsmalltolargeherdsoversometimesincrediblylargeareaswhileconsuminguptoseveralhundredkilogrammesofplantmatterinasingleday.

　　Elephants,infact,placesuchgreatdemandsontheirownenvironmentthatinordertosurvive,itwillfrequentlybringthemintoconflictwithmanwhoiscompetingformanyofthesesame,oftenscarceresources.

　　Onthegroundontwocontinents

　　Inall,theproblemsfacingelephantsinAsiaandAfricaarevariedandcomplex.Tothisend,WWFisinvolvedintheirconservationthrough2keyprogrammeswhichaddresslocalkeyissues,therealitiesfacedontheground,andthiseverpresentconflictwithman.Theseprogrammesare:

　　AsianRhinosandElephantsActionStrategy(AREAS):ThisambitiousProgrammebringstogethercuttingedgeconservationbiologywithtrademonitoring,socio-economicanalysis,andpolicyadvocacy,promisingnewhopefordwindlingpopulationsofthesethreatenedpachyderms.

　　WWFAfricanElephantProgramme:TheProgrammeaimstoconserveforestandsavannaelephantpopulationsacrossAfricabysupportingprojectsthatimproveprotectionandmanagement,buildcapacitywithinrangestates,mitigatehuman-elephantconflictandreduceillegaltrade.

　　PhysicalDescription

　　SpeciesDescription

　　Elephantsareidentifiedbytheirmassivebodiesandtheirtrunk,whichisusedtopickavarietyofobjects,includingfood.TheheadislargeinrelationtotherestofthebodyandtheAfricanspeciesisnotedforitsverylargeears.Hairissparse.

　　TheAsianelephanthasfourhooves(occasionallyfive)onthehindfootandfiveontheforefoot,andtheAfricanelephanthasthreeonthehindfootandfiveontheforefoot.

　　Size

　　LivingmembersoftheorderProboscideahaveamaximumheightofnearly400cmandaweightofupto7,500kg.

　　Habitat

　　Biogeographicrealm

　　Indo-Malayan,Afrotropical

　　GeographicalLocation

　　Africa,Asia

　　Thegiantpandahasaverydistinctiveblack-and-whitecoat,andadultsmeasurearound1.5mlongandaround75cmtallattheshoulder.Malescanweighupto115kg(253pounds).Femalesaregenerallysmallerthanmales,andcanoccasionallyweighupto100kg(220pounds).Giantpandasliveinmountainousregions,suchasSichuan,Gansu,Shaanxi,andTibet.WhiletheChinesedragonhasbeenhistoricallyanationalemblemforChina,sincethelatterhalfofthe20thcentury,thepandahasalsobecomeaninformalnationalemblemforChina,anditsimageisfoundonmanyChinesegoldcoins.

　　Despitebeingtaxonomicallyacarnivore,thepandahasadietthatisprimarilyherbivorous,whichalmostexclusivelyconsistsofbamboo.Thisisanevolutionarilyrecentadaptation,orperhapsjustaveryawkwardone;pandaslacktheproperenzymestodigestbambooefficiently,andthusderivelittleenergyandlittleproteinfromit.

　　Whileprimarilyherbivorus,thepandastillretainsdecidedlyursineteeth,andwillreadilyeatmeat,fish,andeggswhenavailable,buttheirsluggishspeeds,aconsequenceoftheirmainlybamboodiet,e