African Elephant

The African Elephant is the largest living mammal on land, this species was almost wiped off the face of the earth by poaching for the ivory of there tusks. Elephants have very muscular trunks that is an extinction of there noses which is used to smell pick food, signal and siphoning water. the African elephant is known for its ability to find water even in severer droughts and then digging for water.

Diet Description: Graze and browse up to 600kg a day

Distribution: They are widely distributed throughout central, western and eastern Africa, south of the Sahara, with the forest elephant inhabiting the rainforests of the Congo basin. There are isolated populations in the southern African sub-region.

Habitat: Dense forests to open plains - Clean drinking water and a plentiful supply of food are an elephant's only habitat requirements.

Socialisation: Elephants are generally gregarious and form small family groups consisting of an older matriarch and three or four offspring, along with their young. The males are mostly solitary and sometimes form bachelor herds.

Due to the quantity of body mass and large bone structure of African Elephant.
It is best to use large hunting calibers with heavy grain solid projectiles(bullets) with low velocity and high momentum.

The best caliber would be no smaller than .375 with heavy grain bullet.
Other calibers that are also very efficient in hunting African Elephant include .416 Rigby, .458, 500 nitro express.

it is also advised to use a bolt action rifle as you can fire 3 rounds faster with a bolt action then 3 rounds with a double barrel rifle.

Elephant can be a very use full management tool as they are mixed mass feeders.
They play a important role in replacing nutrients back in to soil as the pushed over trees and vegetation becomes compost.

Although african elephant can be good management tool they are mostly a hindrance on a game ranch.
This is due to the regulations on hunting and culling this species.
Elephants have a very long life expectancy and tend populate a area very quickly and then do more damage then good as they can not migrate thru across game ranch or reserve borders.

Population control of this species is very difficult as hunting and culling permits is not freely available and birth-control on elephants is not very successfully, and when it is the bulls become very aggressive.