At first glance, many people think that elephants are all alike. But there are several outward traits that differentiate elephants based on their origin, related to the size, shape and texture of their features. Whether from Africa or Asia, all elephant subspecies are still the largest of land mammals in the world.
Five Main Differences To Look For
The two species of elephants—African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus)—are comprised of several subspecies. Among the African, there is the savannah elephant and the smaller forest elephant. Asian elephants include the subspecies Indian, Sri Lankan, Sumatran, and Borneo (Pygmy).
There are five main ways to immediately distinguish whether an elephant is African or Asian. Because the two African species are slightly different, for the purpose of this article, the following applies mostly to the savannah elephant subspecies in Africa, versus the most populous of the Asian subspecies, the Indian elephant.
- Ears – African savannah elephants’ ears are large and extend back behind the neck. Asian elephant ears are smaller and do not extend past the neck. They also tend to fold forward. One way to remember how to distinguish them is that the large ears of the African elephant resemble the shape of that continent, and the smaller ears of the Asian elephant often resemble the shape of India.
- Trunk – African elephants have more rings on the trunk and two fingers at its tip. Asian elephant trunks have less ringing and only one finger at the tip.
- Back – An African elephant’s back has a dip in the middle, whereas an Asian elephant’s back is a high arch.
- Tusks – Both sexes of the African species have tusks, which are larger in the male than in the female. Males of the Asian species have tusks, compared to very short or nonexistent tusks in the females.
- Head – The African elephant has a long, low forehead that in silhouette shows a smooth dome. By contrast, the Asian elephant has a high, two-domed (or lumpy) forehead.
Other Ways African and Asian Elephants Differ
There are still many other ways that African and Asian elephants differ physically, some of which include:
- Size – Asian elephants generally are smaller in height and weigh less than African species.
- Skin – An African savannah elephant’s skin is more wrinkly and an Asian elephant’s skin is smoother. This is because the African elephant’s skin needs more surface area to act as a cooling mechanism under the hot sun, since elephants don’t sweat. Asian elephants don’t need this adaptation since they live in a darker forest habitat.
- Belly Line – The African elephant’s belly line slopes downward from front to back, whereas the Asian elephant’s is more straight and sags.
- Teeth – African elephants have diamond-shaped ridges on their teeth, while Asian elephants have parallel ridges.
- Toes – African elephants have four or five nails on their front feet, and three to five on their hind feet. Asian elephants have five nails on the front, and four or five on the rear feet.
African and Asian elephants may have outward differences people can see, and many emotional and behavioral differences that are not immediately apparent. But they have in common some extraordinary animal abilities, including their amazing social systems and advanced communication—other elephant topics that people might find interesting to explore. The “Elecam” at the website of the nonprofit Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is one way to get a view of a variety of elephants in action, without leaving home, to make note of their similarities and differences.
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