African elephant

[af-ri-kuhn el-uh-fuhnt]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of African elephant¹

First recorded in 1600–20

Example Sentences

Shankar, the lone African elephant at Delhi's zoo who spent much of his life in isolation, refused food on Wednesday and collapsed by evening.

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African elephants typically live to be 60 to 70 years old in the wild, thanks in part to the survival advantages they obtain through their protective family social structures.

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While she said the five elderly African elephants were "majestic," the court ruled the claim could not be brought "because an elephant is not a person".

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

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African elephants face threats from poachers, with thousands of them illegally killed each year for their tusks.

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