---
title: "African Savanna Elephant"
description: "Loxodonta africana — Mammiferi. The African bush elephant, also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa and the largest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown bulls reaching an average shoulder height of 3.04–3.36 m (10.0–11.0 ft) and a body mass of 5.2–6.9 t ; the largest recorded specimen had a shoulder height of 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and an estimated body mass of 10.4 t."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/african-savanna-elephant
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# African Savanna Elephant

> Loxodonta africana — Mammiferi. The African bush elephant, also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa and the largest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown bulls reaching an average shoulder height of 3.04–3.36 m (10.0–11.0 ft) and a body mass of 5.2–6.9 t ; the largest recorded specimen had a shoulder height of 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and an estimated body mass of 10.4 t.

- Scientific name: *Loxodonta africana*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammiferi)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Prati e campi), `savanna` (Savana)
- iNaturalist observations: 30767
- Wikidata: [Q36557](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36557)
- iNaturalist taxon: [43694](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43694)

## Names

- en: African Savanna Elephant
- de: Afrikanischer Elefant
- es: Elefante africano de sabana
- fr: Éléphant de Savane d’Afrique
- nl: Savanneolifant
- pt: Elefante-da-savana
- pl: Słoń afrykański

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (11446), KE (4435), TZ (3562), BW (2656), NA (2270), ZW (979), UG (972), ZM (660), MW (325), BJ (252), MZ (137), RW (129)

## Summary

The African bush elephant, also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa and the largest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown bulls reaching an average shoulder height of 3.04–3.36 m (10.0–11.0 ft) and a body mass of 5.2–6.9 t ; the largest recorded specimen had a shoulder height of 3.96 m (13.0 ft) and an estimated body mass of 10.4 t. It is characterised by its long prehensile trunk with two finger-like processes; a concave back; large ears which help reduce body heat; and sturdy tusks that are noticeably curved. Its skin is grey…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_bush_elephant

## Photo

![African Savanna Elephant](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-savanna-elephant/medium.jpg)

Photo: Simon Tonge · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9007458

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/african-savanna-elephant?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).