Elephants are some of the largest animals in the world. This is a really curious fact if we take into account that it is a herbivorous animal, that is, it only feeds on plant foods.
However, if we review the feeding of the elephant, we can see that it is a voracious animal, which eats about 200 kilograms dailyGiven such an amount of daily consumption, it is normal for us to wonder how much an elephant weighs and other related curious data.
In this article on our site we will answer your question How much does an elephant weigh? and we will inform you of some details that deserve the worth knowing:
The weights of the African elephant and the Asian elephant
The first thing we need to know is that there are two species of elephants with different qualities. Although the two are respectively the largest animals on their continents, there are some differences between African and Asian elephants, and in this case we will talk about the size of both, starting with knowing that the Asian elephant is smaller than the African:
- The Asian elephant reaches 2 meters in height and up to 5 tons in weight.
- The African elephant reaches 3.5 meters in height and can weigh between 4.5 and 6 tons.
It is no coincidence that elephants are part of Africa's Big Five because they are truly extraordinary animals, both inside and out.
But how much does an elephant weigh in kilograms?
An African elephant can weigh between 4,000 and 7,000 kilos. Asians a little less, around 5,000 kilos.
Curiosities about elephants and their weight
- How much did the world's largest elephant weigh? The largest elephant ever seen lived in 1955 and was from Angola. It reached 12 tons.
- How much does an elephant weigh at birth? The first thing I should point out is that an elephant's gestation period lasts more than 600 days. Yes, you heard right, almost two years. In fact, the "baby" elephant, at birth, weighs about 100 kilos and measures one meter tall. That is why the gestation process is so slow.
- How much does an elephant tusk weigh? Elephant tusks can weigh up to 90 kilos and measure about 3 meters. Unfortunately, it is these tusks that cause many poachers to kill elephants, furthering the extinction of the species.
- How much does an elephant's brain weigh? Although it may seem exorbitant, the brain of these large mammals weighs between 4 and 5 kilos.
Riddle: How would you weigh an elephant without a scale?
Now that you know how much an elephant weighs and other curiosities related to its weight, we are going to propose a puzzle. In their recruiting interviews, Google asked this question. It was about checking how clever a person could be:
How would you weigh an elephant without a scale?
One possible solution was to put an elephant on a ship and see how far it would sink. We would mark the reference. To know the weight we would start putting bags and bags of sand of a certain weight until the boat reached the marked reference. And you, how would you weigh it? Leave us your comment with your solution!
