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African elephants live throughout the continent of Africa, south of the Sahara desert. They have much larger ears than their Asian cousins, and their ears are rounded and shaped like the continent of Africa. They also have a smooth forehead and two "fingers" at the end of their trunk. Their skin is more deeply wrinkled than the Asian elephant's skin and both the males and females have large tusks. There are about 550,000 wild African elephants left on the African continent. African elephants are considered a threatened species.
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Willie
African male, born 1979
Willie is the tallest elephant at the sanctuary at about 10 feet in height. He weighs over 5 tons and is just entering his prime. Willie enjoys the company of the African females, and likes to spar (play fight) with the younger African males, but they know that he is in charge! Willie came to the sanctuary from a small zoo where he had been housed alone for some years.
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Toby
African male born in 1980
Toby is a short, stocky individual. He has thick tusks, but one tusk is shorter than the other as he broke off a large piece, probably while sparring (play fighting) with one of the other young African males at the sanctuary. Toby came to the sanctuary from a small zoo where he had been living with the female Tonga in a very small facility.
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Maximus
African male born April 16, 2003
We are excited to introduce our newest African elephant herd member: Baby Maximus was born at 3:02 AM on Wednesday, April 16. At birth the baby boy weighed 282 lbs and stood 36 1/2 inches tall. Max's mother is Lil' Felix and this is her first baby. Max is a very healthy and energetic little elephant!"
Maximus, the 14-month old baby African elephant born here at the sanctuary, is the star of the TV network Animal Planet's one-hour program "Growing Up Elephant" which begins airing Monday, July 26 at 8 PM EST (check your local listing).
To adopt Max, click here.
See more pictures of Max.
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Amy
African female born in 1987
Amy was a performing elephant and was retired to be a part of an African elephant family. She is a young elephant who will play a big part in the large, highly structured herd at the sanctuary. Amy is the star of the book “The Cowboy and His Elephant” by Malcolm MacPherson. |
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Miss Bets
African female born in 2007
We are excited to introduce our newest African elephant herd member: a little girl was born at 5:18 AM on Saturday, December 8, 2007. Her weight at birth was 263 lbs and she is 35 inches tall. She is strong, healthy and nursing. Mom "Amy" is being a wonderful first time mother!
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