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

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

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

• 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

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

In the wild (Lee et al. 2012, 2016)

• Little known; most estimates speculative
• For females of a population in southern Kenya
  • Females which live past 9 years old live about 40 years, on average
  • 95% mortality by age 65
  • Maximum lifespan of a wild female in this population: 74 years
• Median age of males: about 30 years

In managed care (ZIMS 2017)

• Commonly live to 40-early 50s
  • Limited data compared to Asian elephants; will likely learn more with additional data (Wiese and Willis 2004)
• Oldest individual reported in ZIMS (data with high rigor; as of 2017): 56 years old (female)
  • Longer longevity sometimes reported, but this needs corroboration

Comparing wild vs. managed care

• Maximum life expectancy similar, but average/typical life expectancy longer in the wild (Wiese and Willis 2004)

Predators

• Predatory animals work in groups to target elephants
• A group of lions may attack and kill young elephants

Accidents and natural disasters

• Accidental deaths
• Accidental slips and falls
• Bulls killed during reproductive musth
• Drought

Killed by humans

• Humans kill elephants in defense of their crops
• Poaching

Natural aging

• Elephants can only live as long as their teeth support them
• As each tooth is worn down, it passes to the front of the mouth and falls out to be replaced by the next in line
• When the last tooth is used, the elephant is unable to chew its food properly
• Can use softer vegetation in swamps for a time

African elephant calf with family.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Global. All rights reserved.

African elephant calf.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Global. All rights reserved.

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