How long do elephants live?

Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. Three species are recognized as the African bush elephant   (Loxodonta Africana ), the African forest elephant  (Loxodonta cyclotis ) and the Asian elephant ( Elephas Maximus ).

How long do elephants live-Elephants are herbivorous and can be found in different habitats around several regions including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes? Elephants are known to live for over an overage of 60 years of age in their natural habitats, but the numbers have significantly dropped in the last few decades. In some cases, several elephants have broken these numbers to live more than 80 years of age (Mostly in Kenya).

Fun fact: Which animal has the longest lifespan?

It is the Arctica Islandica also known as the Ocean Quahog, who are native to the North Atlantic Ocean. An individual specimen is reported to have lived 507 years.

How long do parrots live? Our chatty friends live up to 50 years of age that is currently equal to many elephants even in their natural habitats.

Back to our elephant friends. here is the averaged life expectancy for elephants in their natural habitats.

African Bush Elephant: 60 – 70 years old

African Forest Elephant: 60 – 70 years old

Asian Elephant: 48 years old

These numbers are believed to be in half since many threats have emerged to their lives, most posed by humans. Here we will have a brief look on to how their lifespans have been affected.

Threats and how they have reduced Elephant’s lifespan.

The life expectancy has drastically reduced due to human-elephant conflicts that are wrapped around hunting, poaching. In some cases, elephants are forced to roam out of their territories due to them being taken away by farmers and expanding human civilizations. Some countries have implemented strict laws and mobilized wildlife protection officers inefficient amounts to keep these elephants safe from hunters and poachers.

Eg. Sri Lanka is an island with a lot of Sri Lankan Elephants; they have improved their security provided towards safeguarding elephants in an increasingly effective manner. In the Asian Region, Sri Lankan population to have declined but it sits at a very low rate compared to other countries in the region such as India, Thailand, and Malaysia.

You can find many about how Sri Lankan elephants are evicted from conflict zones, then reintroduced into safer zones such as Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and Yala National Park. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage: Click here to read the article.

Yala National Park: Click here to read the article