Do you know what do elephants eat? This article demonstrates you the variation in the elephants’ diet. Elephants are one of the largest mammals that belong to the family of Elephantidae. These large sized mammals inhabits all throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia.
These animals are herbivorous and they spend 16 hours a day on eating plants. There is a significant variation among the elephants’ diet which depends on the habitats. Most of these species largely prefer to eat leaves, shrubs, fruits, bark, herbs, and grasses. One of the strange characteristics of elephants is that they digest only 40% of what they eat. Elephant consumes 140 – 270 kg (300 – 600 lb)of food each day.
Read More: What Do African Elephants Eat?
What Do African Bush Elephants Eat?
Similar to other elephant species, African bush elephants are also herbivorous. Elephants that are the inhabitants of forests, deserts, and grasslands generally rely on herbs and shrubby leaves to fulfill their diet needs. However, animals residing at the shores are known to eat aquatic plants and roots.
Read More: What do African elephants eat?
When the elephants reach the age of 15, new teeth begins to emerge replacing the milk teeth. African bush elephants are known to eat 225 kg of vegetable each day. As a result, it has to travel great distances in search of food or suitable vegetation to feed on. These animals also drink 190 liters of water daily.
Some of the elephant species are believed to be megaherbivores together with consuming ability of 150 kg (330 lb)per day. These animals are grazers and eat more than different 100 plants. Some of these plants are legume, sedge, palm, and true grass.
Generally speaking, elephants need to drink 80 – 200 liters of water which is why they’re not expected to stay away from the water source. They also come into conflict with humans when crushing all the human crops.
What Do Indian Elephants Eat?
Indian elephant are known to cover a wide area of about 1,130 km2 (440 sq mi). These animals primarily feed on plants, white thorn, wood apple, date palm, kumbhi, and tamarind. Indian elephants also consume bamboos, culms, lateral shoots, and seedlings.
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