Meet the African Elephant

Standing 11 feet high at the shoulder and weighing up to 6 tons, the African elephant is the largest animal walking the Earth. These majestic beasts once roamed the continent by the millions, but today they are endangered, with just over 400,000 African elephants remaining. Hunting severely reduced Africa’s elephant population by the 1980s, and in recent years, a growing demand for illegal ivory has led to a surge in poaching. Expedition Leader Russell Gerber is with us from Cape Town, South Africa to share “all things elephant” in a webinar that’s sure to inform, intrigue and charm you. Russell will cover evolution, distribution and reproduction, highlighting fascinating facts about elephants from their pregnancies (22 months!) and matriarchal social structure to their trunk’s many uses and the reasons they take mud and dust baths…and much more! Learn about the threats to elephant survival and their current conservation status, plus ways you can support their protection. You’ll come away with an in-depth understanding of one of Africa’s most wondrous creatures and an awareness of the delicate balance within which the dwindling population exists.


Originally presented October 26, 2021

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