african elephant
The African Elephant, Loxodanta africana, is the largest animal walking the Earth. Their herds wander through 37 countries in Africa. They are easily recognized by their trunk that is used for communication and handling objects. And their large ears allow them to radiate excess heat. Upper incisor teeth develop into tusks in African elephants and grow throughout their lifetime.
dIGESTIVE SYSTEM
It begins with the mouth- The digestive process begins with the entrance of food in the mouth. They have a relatively small mouth for the size of their body, which cannot be opened widely. To aid in the initial digestive process, there are well-developed salivary glands in the mouth, along with the mucous glands present in the short esophagus. Together they help to lubricate the rough vegetation that an elephant consumes in its diet.
The stomach- The stomach is a simple sac that is orientated almost vertically. Ironically, the majority of the digestion doesn't take place in the stomach, yet it acts as a storage for the food eaten. From here, it is then ushered into the amazingly large intestines of the elephant-- they can stretch up to 19 meters!
The intestines- The intestine is where most of the digestion of the vegetative diet takes place. At the point at which the small intestine meets the large one, bacteria aids in the fermentative digestion of the cellulose (from the plants in the diet). This location is called the caecum and is particularly rich in blood vessels. The caecum is divided into many smaller sacs and the products of digestion are absorbed through its relatively thin walls.
The end of the process- Because the elephant only digests and makes good use of 40% of its intake, the intestine is also key in the formation of faeces and the efficient absorption of water. The size of the faeces is often used to determine the age of the elephant as it retains the shape formed by the walls of the rectum, indicating its size.