Elephants are synonymous with great size in people's minds, as the largest extant land animal, currently three species and two genera, ranked by average weight, African savanna elephants, Asian elephants, and African forest elephants. They also rank as the top three heaviest extant land animals.

African savanna elephantsAverage weight: males 3.8-4.7 tons, females 2.3-2.5 tons.

Asian elephantsAverage weight: males 3.6-3.7 tons, females 2.5-2.6 tons.

The African savanna elephant holds the undisputed position as the largest land animal, with Asian elephants close behind.Many people believe that the African savanna elephant is the largest elephant currently, largely influenced by the 'satellite' data.

The size of savanna elephants

According to some books, on November 7, 1974, an African savanna elephant was shot in Angola, with a shoulder height of 3.96 meters, a total length of 10.67 meters, a forefoot circumference of 1.8 meters, and a weight of 11.75 tons.

Having seen these descriptions, many people would believe them to be true. You can see, precisely to the time, to the location, and the measurement data is precisely to two decimal places, it cannot be faked.

However, this data sample has been proven to be unreliable.

I will temporarily call it 'Angolan giant' here.

Museum giantAs early as 1955, a giant elephant was hunted in this area. This is the largest African elephant ever recorded. In 1954, Jose Fenykovi discovered a giant elephant in southern Angola, believing it to be a record-breaking giant, with an estimated shoulder height of 4.4 meters. In 1955, Jose Fenykovi and his companions found this elephant and killed it.That era allowed the legal hunting of elephants. He found that this elephant was slightly limping, which caused the footprints to overlap, but the elephant's size still surprised him.

This elephant was made into a specimen and displayed in the main hall of the National Museum of Natural History in the United States.

This elephant has no specific name, I will temporarily call it 'Museum giant'.The 'satellite' data surrounding the Angolan giant and the Museum giant revolves around it.Let's first look at some body size data of the Museum giant.Its body size data has many versions, even there are claims of shoulder height of 14 feet (4.26 meters) and 7300 kg weight, but this data is obviously exaggerated, indicating that someone may deliberately exaggerate the Museum giant.

The Museum giant's head is significantly raised.According to Jose Fenykovi's own account, it was 4 feet 2 inches (1.22 meters) tall, with a weight of 7300 kilograms.

Later, through fitting formulas, its real shoulder height was calculated to be approximately 3.47 meters and its weight of 7300 kilograms was considered credible.

4.01 meters is likely the head height, as the body shape of the African elephant causes the back to be a slope, and the head is higher than the shoulders.

Based on the body size of the Museum giant, the shoulder height of the Angolan giant is estimated to be 3.6 meters and its weight is 7500 kilograms.Let's look at some other large individual African elephants.The largest verified weight of a wild African elephant is in northern Tanzania, the elephant has a shoulder height of 3.34 meters, a forefoot circumference of 152 centimeters, and a weight of 6.64 tons. Tembo measured it to be 3.30 meters and weighed 6.25 tons before his death.

A captive African elephant named Jumbo is kept in the London Zoo, with a shoulder height of 3.23 meters and a weight of 5998 kilograms.

There is a giant African elephant in Israel named Yossi, with a shoulder height of 3.3-3.68 meters and a weight of 7 tons. It is famous for killing and growing up with one of its female companions.

The chart shows the growth curve of the African savanna elephant.

Male average progressive weight (mature body weight) is 4.7 tons, and the female average progressive weight is 2.7 tons.

The body size of Asian elephants

Currently, the largest Asian elephant is Radza. It was born in 1966 in Mysore, India, captured in 1967, and sent to Stuttgart, Germany, in 1968. It was sold to a circus in Moscow in 1972, and then to a zoo in Riga until October 2003, when it went to the Emmen Zoo. In 2011, it was pushed down a water ditch by its companions and broke an elephant tusk.

Radza has a shoulder height of 3.15 meters and a weight of 7200 kilograms, with a very obese figure.

Radza

The shoulder height record for Asian elephants is 3.43 meters, dating back to 1924 in Assam, India, but some people think it is unreliable.

The Nepalese have a 3.4-meter individual, such as the famous Raja Gaj, with a forefoot length of 56-58 centimeters, and a shoulder height-to-forefoot ratio of 6:1, translated.

Radza has a shoulder height of 3.36-3.48 meters and a weight of 7-8 tons.

Jingo, an Asian elephant that was kept in the London Zoo, was 2 inches taller and heavier than Jumbo, the same animal in the zoo.

Comparing the largest individuals of African and Asian elephantsBased on the data above, it is clear that the African savanna elephant and the Asian elephant have a close competition, with the African savanna elephant with a taller figure and a slight advantage in shoulder height, and the Asian elephant with a bulky figure and a slight advantage in weight.

When comparing shoulder heights, Asian elephants are slightly heavier than African elephants.

In terms of average weight, the African elephant is the largest extant land animal, and as for the largest individual, both the African savanna elephant and the Asian elephant are evenly matched, with the range within 7 tons.

The largest individual elephant is the extinct Namibian giant, as it belongs to the extinct Rhinoceros family, so it is also known as the extinct Namibian Rhinoceros.It is the largest long-nosed animal ever known, and may be the largest land mammal ever known.In 2015, based on fossil data, its shoulder height was estimated to be 17.1 feet (5.2 meters) and its weight was 22 tons.If there are more fossils to confirm it in the future, the Namibian giant will exceed the Tian Shan sub-giant rhinoceros and become the largest land mammal ever known.However, it is still disputed which elephant is the largest currently, let alone the extinct one.

Conclusion

The currently largest average weight elephant is the African savanna elephant, but the largest individual African savanna elephant and Asian elephant are evenly matched, with the range within 7 tons. The largest individual elephant is the extinct Namibian giant, with a weight of up to 22 tons.I am Qian Xun, a knowledge seeker, dedicated to nature and nature, and more wonderful content will be available to follow.

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