The African Elephant: An The African Elephant: An Endangered SpeciesEndangered Species

African Elephants, the largest living land animals, are being pushed into extinction by poaching and the loss of habitat. They could be extinct by 2020. Elephants are most often poached for their tusks.

The African Elephant can easily consume up to 225 kilograms of fruit, grass and leaves in a day. The loss of their habitat means they have less to eat.

Besides poaching, African Elephants face another major challenge, the calves often die during droughts, or fall prey to lions, crocodiles and other predators.

The African Elephant population in the 1980s was around 1 million, with around 70,000 elephants being killed a year. The total African elephant population is now less than 470,000 .

http://www.africapoint.net/hunting/african-elephant-endangered/