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African Elephants (Loxodonta africana and L. cyclotis) Fact Sheet: Reproduction & Development

Update in Progress

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This fact sheet, like an elephant, is aging gracefully. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is working to bring you an updated version of the African Elephants Fact Sheet with new science and conservation information. Thanks for your patience, as our tusks go to the ground and dig into this huge project. Please check back soon. SDZWA team members can email questions to library@sdzwa.org.

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Courtship //

Sexual behavior/courtship

  • Bulls sniff and taste urine of cows
    • Males examine excretory products for the presence of sex pheromone
    • Transfer a sample with their trunk to the vomeronasal organ on roof of their mouth
  • Females alters behavior to signal males of reproductive receptivity
    • Estrus females signal their location to bulls a few kilometers away with a series of loud, very low frequency calls
    • Females exhibit a typical "estrous walk"; male display a characteristic "musth walk" (Sukumar 2003)
    • Cow backs up to the bull allowing confirmation of estrus

Mate preference

  • Females prefer large bulls, in their prime
    • Bulls typically 40-50 years old

Bulls aggresive during musth

  • A period of heightened sexual and aggressive activity in bulls
    • Each male comes into musth at a specific time each year (varies from male to male)
      • Typically lasts 6-12 weeks, but year-long musth periods have been recorded
        • Secretions are produced from swollen temporal glands
        • Urine dribbles from greenish-appearing penis
        • Frequent mating calls are made
      • Bulls in the depths of musth are often anorexic
      • Although estrous females prefer large musth bulls in their prime they are frequently bad breeders because of over-aggressiveness

Reproduction //

Year-round reproduction

  • Matings and births occur throughout the year
    • Reproduction may be associated with rainfall

Estrus cycle of cow is unusually long

  • 13-16 weeks
    • Luteal phase 9-12 weeks
    • Follicular phase 3-5 weeks
  • Ovulation lasts about 4 days

Gestation and Birth //

Gestation

  • Averages 22 months

Birth

  • Timing of parturition
    • Most frequent during rains
  • Litter size
    • Usually one
    • Twins are rare
  • Neonate size and appearance
    • Weight: 90-120 kg (198-265 lb)
    • Height: 80-100 cm (2'8" - 3'3")
    • Nearly blind
      • Entirely dependent upon mother and family relatives

Interbirth interval

  • 4-6 year calving interval is common
    • May last 10 years

Reproductive Rate

  • Lifetime reproductive output
    • A female can produce 7 offspring in her life
      • Oldest confirmed conception: 36 years
      • Food availability and population density influence the frequency of birth

Life Stages //

Infant (< 1 year old)

  • Development
    • 1st three months spent developing motor skills
    • 3-4 months begin to feed on their own
    • Young elephants have deciduous tusks (tushes)
    • Tushes are replaced by permanent tusks between 6 months-1 year (Fowler 1993)
    • Weaning 2-3 years
      • Calf's nursing inhibits mother's estrus
    • Developmental patterns similar for both sexes until age 10

Adults

  • Sexual maturity
    • Males
      • In the wild, males capable of reproduction c. 12-15 years though they typically do not breed until their mid to late 20s
      • First reproduce c. 7 years of age in managed care
    • Females
      • In the wild, 10-11 years in the wild
      • First reproduce c. 6 years of age in managed care
  • Growth
    • Unlike other mammals elephants grow continuously
      • Female growth slows considerably after 25 years; c. 2,800 kg (6,173 lb)
      • Male growth slows by 50-60 years; c. 5,000 kg (11,023 lb)
  • Value of old individuals
    • Older female matriarchs impart invaluable knowledge and survival skills to herd

Typical Life Expectancy

Wild populations

  • Life expectancy varies, depending on population, sex, amount of poaching pressure, etc.
  • Typical life expectancy across regions needs more study, but likely about 30 to 40 years (e.g., Moss 2001; Lee et al. 2012; Lee, Fishlock, et al. 2016; see Lee, Lindsay, et al. 2011 for Life Tables)

Managed care

Mortality

Survival rates

  • Also see Threats to Survival for discussion of poaching and human–elephant conflict
  • Protected vs. unprotected habitat areas
    • Deaths from “natural causes” (eg, starvation, dehydration) can be comparable to deaths from ivory poaching, if elephants not able to roam (ie, range is limited to a small protected area) to find enough food and water (esp. during drought conditions) (Mukeka et al. 2022)
  • Male vs. female survival
    • Mortality for males generally higher across lifespan (Moss 2001; Poole et al. 2013; Wittemyer et al. 2021; Mukeka et al. 2022)
  • Calf survival
    • More savanna elephant calves die from drought and predators, compared to forest elephants (Wittemyer et al. 2013; Turkalo et al. 2018)
      • Drought lowers survival for adult females and their calves (eg, Lee and Moss 1986; Lee et al. 2013)
        • Affects milk production/quality (Lee and Moss 1986; Shrader et al. 2010; Lee et al. 2013) and increases travel distances to find food/water, which may result in calves becoming lost or separated from their family (eg, Loveridge et al. 2006)
      • Orphaned calves experience lower survival rates, which can harm population growth/recovery (eg, Goldenberg and Wittemyer 2018; Parker et al. 2021)
        • Also see Orphaned calves
    • Turkalo et al. (2018) reported very high survival rates (97%) for 2-year-old calves at Dzanga Bai, a well-protected population of forest elephants (Turkalo et al. 2018)

Predation

  • Predators of calves and juveniles
    • Savanna elephant
      • Lions (e.g., Loveridge et al. 2006; Power and Shem Compion 2009)
      • Spotted hyenas (Poole et al. 2013)
      • Leopards (Nowak 2018 citing Blake 2004)
    • Forest elephant
      • Not thought to have non-human predators, but rarely, possibly leopards (Turkalo and Barnes 2013)
  • Predators of adults
    • Humans (Turkalo and Fay 1995)
      • See Threats to Survival

Diseases (non-comprehensive)

  • Anthrax
    • Observed in wild savanna elephants but not forest elephants (Turkalo and Barnes 2013)
    • Can affect entire populations (Poole et al. 2013 citing Lindeque and Turnbull 1994)
      • A disease that might contribute (alongside other factors) to limiting excessive population growth (ie, too large for an ecosystem to support) (see Foley et al. 2024)
  • Encephalomyocarditis virus (abbreviated EMCV) (Grobler 1995; Poole et al. 2013)
    • A potentially fatal viral infection in savanna elephant (Poole et al. 2013)
      • More than 60 elephants died in one outbreak in Kruger National Park (1993 to 1994) (Grobler 1995)
  • “Floppy trunk syndrome” (Poole et al. 2013; Landolfi and Terrell 2018)
    • Observed in savanna elephants
    • Rare, progressive nervous system condition leading to total paralysis of the trunk
    • Affected individuals have difficulty drinking and eating, leading to poor condition and possibly death
    • Cause unknown; possibly a toxin or pollutant
  • Bacterial infections that cause blood poisoning (Azeem et al. 2020; Foggin et al. 2023)
    • Transmission pathway(s) not yet known, but can cause mass mortality events (Foggin et al. 2023)
      • In 2020, 35 elephants died from a Pasteurella-like infection in Zimbabwe (Foggin et al. 2023)
    • An elephant’s immune system can be compromised by multiple stressors: drought, heat, malnutrition, dehydration, etc. (Fey et al. 2015; Foggin et al. 2023)
  • Other notable diseases
    • Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (abbreviated EEHV) and bovine tuberculosis (caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis) reported in wild populations—but rarely known to kill African elephants (Long et al. 2016; Miller et al. 2019; Miller et al. 2021; Kerr et al. 2023)
      • More research needed to better understand the health impacts on African elephants and potential for disease transmission within/among species (eg, Miller et al. 2019; Kerr et al. 2023; Rob Browning, personal communication, 2025)

Other causes of death (non-comprehensive)

  • Drought and starvation
    • Starvation, rather than dehydration, appears to more commonly kill elephants during drought (Corfield 1973; Shrader et al. 2010; Wato et al. 2016)
      • May have access to water but not nutritious forage
      • Water also plays a role in metabolizing food/stored fat
    • Short-term drought
      • Does not usually harm elephant populations in places where elephants are abundant (Ndlovu et al. 2023)
        • But, can still kill many elephants or make population sizes less stable (Douglas-Hamilton and Wall 2009; Western and Mose 2023)
    • Persistent drought
      • Tends to impact young and very old savanna elephants the most (Dudley et al. 2001; Ndlovu et al. 2023)
      • Mukeka et al. (2022) report more frequent droughts beginning to cause more elephant deaths than poaching in Kenya
      • Projected to become more frequent in southern Africa, the region with the largest savanna elephant populations (Black et al. 2024)
    • Inability to chew
      • Very worn teeth make it difficult to eat, or very old individuals may no longer have tooth replacements (see Teeth) and die from malnutrition (Eltingham 1991)
  • Injuries
    • Fights between bull males during musth (Hall-Martin 1987)
    • Accidental falls (Douglas-Hamilton and Wall 2009)
      • Calves, especially, may not be able to escape from slippery mud or water wells
    • Landmines (from human warfare) (Eniag et al. 2007)
    • Infections from gunshot wounds or other hunting methods (Poole and Granli 2022)
    • Snares
      • Cause limping, broken bones, joint dislocations, and infections (Poole and Granli 2022)

African elephants at SDZ Safari Park

African elephant calf with family

African elephant calf with family.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

African elephant calf

African elephant calf.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Page Citations

Eltringham (1992)
Estes (1991)
Estes (1993)
Fowler (1993)
Moss (2000)
Sukumar (2003)
ZIMS (2017)

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