What Is the Biggest Animal in the Rainforest?

Most of the world's rain forests can be found in the tropical, hot and humid regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. These dense forests are home to countless animal species, but the largest of them all is the African forest elephant. It is a subspecies of the African savanna elephant, the largest land animal on the planet.

  1. Description

    • The forest elephant is slightly smaller than the savanna variety. It grows to be between 7 and 9 feet in height, over 9 feet in length and up to 13,200 lb. The heavy-bodied animal has dark gray, rough and wrinkled skin, large ears and a long, dexterous trunk. Its head is large and contains one of the largest brains of any land animal. The tusks of forest elephants are thinner and straighter than those of the savanna variety. This helps avoid catching them on branches in thick forests.

    Habitat and Range

    • The forest elephant is native to central and western Africa in countries such as Gabon, Ghana and the Congo. They live seasonally in a variety of rain forest habitats, spending the dry season in swampier areas and the wet season in the lowland rain forests. The elephants are generally found at altitudes between 328 to 1,312 feet above sea level.

    Diet

    • Like all elephants, the forest elephant is a herbivore but feeds more on fruit than its savanna cousin. It uses its trunk to reach the fruit in trees as well as the branches with their green leaves and twigs. The elephant strips bark from tree trunks, which it also includes in its diet. To obtain extra nutrients, the elephant also eats mineral rich dirt.

    Life Cycle

    • Forest elephant live in small family groups of two to eight females and young elephants. Adult males live a solitary lifestyle outside of breeding. Males will fight for the right to breed with any receptive females in a herd. Females produce one to two offspring every four to nine years. Pregnancies last 22 to 24 months, with offspring nursing from the mother for 36 to 78 months. At the age of 13, the elephants reach independence; the females stay with the herd, while the males leave.