Photo. Encounter of an elephant in Tanzania. © Travel Explorations.
In that moment, I realized: true strength isn’t loud or fast - it’s steady, patient, and sure of its place in the world. Tanzania harbours one of Africa's most significant remaining elephant populations. They are raw and untamed. I travelled through lands where the earth still breathes with life: Tarangire’s herds, Serengeti’s endless marches, and Ngorongoro’s crater kings.
African savannah elephants are the largest land mammals in the world. Females live in family groups of around 10 adults and their calves, while male bulls are either solitary or form bachelor groups, only joining the females for mating.
In Tanzania, the elephants you encounter are predominantly African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana), the largest land mammals on Earth.
Their size and Weight are impressing. Males typically stand between 3.2 to 4 meters (10.5 to 13.1 feet) at the shoulder and weigh between 4,500 to 6,100 kilograms (9,900 to 13,500 pounds). Source: Encyclopedia Britannica. Females, are generally smaller, with shoulder heights around 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) and weights up to 3,500 kilograms (7,700 pounds) .
The largest recorded African elephant stood 3.96 meters (13 feet) tall at the shoulder and weighed approximately 10,400 kilograms (23,000 pounds), based on information from Wikipedia: African bush elephant on Wikipedia.
Tanzania offers prime habitats for these giants, including:
- Serengeti National Park: Known for its vast savannahs and abundant wildlife.
- Tarangire National Park: Famous for its large elephant populations, especially during the dry season.
- Ruaha National Park: Home to diverse ecosystems supporting substantial elephant herds.
These parks provide the open woodlands and savannahs that African bush elephants prefer, offering ample food and water sources (source: African savannah elephants on IFAW).
Elephants are hardcore herbivores, devouring leaves, twigs, fruits, bark, grass, and roots. African elephants spend their days browsing through trees, while Asian elephants prefer grazing on open fields. A full-grown elephant can plow through 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of food and gulp down 40 liters (11 gallons) of water - every single day. They rarely stay far from water.
Mornings, afternoons, and nights are for feeding; midday is for resting under trees, sometimes snoozing while standing. Deep sleep happens after dark, when they finally lie down and call it a day.
African bush elephants and Asian elephants are listed as endangered and African forest elephants as critically endangered on the IUCN Red Lists. One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people (source: Wikipedia).
Stein Morten Lund, April 2025
Additional information
Read more about elephants:
Elephant Wikipedia
African bush elephant Encyclopedia Britannica
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