African elephant

American  

[af-ri-kuhn el-uh-fuhnt] / ˈæf rɪ kən ˈɛl ə fənt /

noun

1. an elephant of the genus Loxodonta, with two extant species, the larger African bush elephant and the African forest elephant, both found in sub-Saharan Africa and previously considered subspecies rather than genetically distinct: Compared to an Asian elephant, an African elephant is larger and has enormous ears, a rounder head, a trunk ending in two fingers rather than one, and conspicuous tusks occurring in both sexes.

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Etymology

Origin of African elephant

First recorded in 1600–20

Compare meaning

How does african-elephant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• African elephant vs. Asian elephant

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

African elephant

In 2024, the Oakland Zoo decided to send Osh, its last remaining African elephant, to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2025

Charley, an aging African elephant, had outlived other elephants at a South Africa zoo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2024

Germany is the EU's largest importer of African elephant trophies, and hunting trophies overall, according to a 2021 report by the Humane Society International.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2024

The heaviest land mammal alive today is the African elephant at around 6.6 tonnes -- yet some land dinosaurs, like the Patagotitan, likely weighed much more than 40 tonnes.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

Both the Indian and African elephant have hairless, rough, very hard, wrinkled skins.

From More Science From an Easy Chair by Sir E. Ray (Edwin Ray) Lankester