African elephant vs Common Ostrich

Loxodonta africana compared with Struthio camelus

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while Common Ostrich is Least Concern.
• African elephant is herbivore while Common Ostrich is omnivore.
• African elephant is 60.0x heavier than Common Ostrich.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 45 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Common Ostrich
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Struthioniformes (Struthioniformes)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Struthionidae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Struthio
Species	Loxodonta africana	Struthio camelus

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and Common Ostrich share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common Ostrich

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Common Ostrich
Diet	Herbivore	Omnivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	45 years
Average Length	6.0 m	2.1 m
Average Weight	6.0 t	100.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Ostrich

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (4 countries), Europe (5 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru).

African elephant

The largest land animal on Earth, African elephants can reach 7,000 kg and inhabit sub-Saharan savannas, forests, and wetlands. Highly intelligent with complex social structures led by matriarchs, they communicate through infrasound, rumbles, and touch. As ecosystem engineers, they shape habitats by uprooting trees, digging waterholes, and dispersing seeds. Vulnerable, with populations declining due to ivory poaching and habitat loss.

Common Ostrich

The world's largest and heaviest living bird, common ostriches stand up to 2.8 meters tall and weigh 156 kg, inhabiting savannas and semi-arid plains of Africa. Flightless, they compensate with powerful long legs capable of delivering lethal kicks and sustaining running speeds of 70 km/h — the fastest of any bird. Their large eyes are the biggest of any land vertebrate. Ostriches lay the largest eggs of any living bird.