Elephants or elephants are mammals classified in the proboscide order, whereas before they were classified into pachyderms, these are the largest terrestrial animals that exist today, they are known to be very intelligent, two genes are currently known, we are talking about African elephants and Asian elephants..
These animals live a long time, largely because they do not have natural predators, however, unlike other animal species, in captivity they reduce their lifespan to just over half, which is a little worrying for the conservation of the species.
- In this Animal Expert article.
- You’ll discover how long an elephant lives.
- As well as several risk factors that reduce the life expectancy of these majestic animals.
Elephants are animals that live for many years, in their natural habitat they can live an average of 40 to 60 years.Evidence has even been found to suggest that some specimens in Kenya may have lived up to age 90.
The longevity that elephants can have are variables that vary depending on the country where the animal lives and the environment in which it is located, as for any other animal, these animals have no natural enemies, except for humans, meaning that in some cases, the life expectancy of the elephant is reduced to an average of 35 years.
One of the things that protects the protection centers of this species is that in captivity elephants reduce their life expectancy too much, the maximum that elephants can live in normal and private conditions of their wildlife is 19 to 20 years, all this happens unlike most species that, in captivity , tend to increase their average life expectancy.
One of the main factors that prevent these majestic animals from living until the age of 50 is humans, excessive hunting, through the ivory trade, is one of the main enemies of elephants, which greatly reduces the life expectancy of these animals.
Another fact that prevents the elephant from living longer is that from the age of 40 his teeth will wear out, which prevents him from eating normally and therefore ends up dying, once they have used his last teeth, death is inevitable.
In addition, there are other health factors that prevent the elephant from living longer, such as arthritis and vascular problems, both related to height and weight.In captivity, life expectancy is reduced by more than half, thanks to stress, lack of exercise and extreme obesity.
If you would like to read articles similar to How an Elephant Lives, we recommend that you visit our Curiosities section of the animal world.