African elephant vs Polar bear

Loxodonta africana compared with Ursus maritimus

Key Differences

• African elephant is herbivore while Polar bear is carnivore.
• African elephant is 13.3x heavier than Polar bear.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 25 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Polar bear
Kingdom same	Animalia (動物)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum same	Chordata (脊索動物)	Chordata (脊索動物)
Class same	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Mammalia (哺乳類)
Order	Proboscidea (ゾウ目)	Carnivora (ネコ目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Ursidae (Bears)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Ursus (Bears)
Species	Loxodonta africana	Ursus maritimus

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and Polar bear share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (哺乳類)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Polar bear

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~26.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Polar bear
Diet	Herbivore	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	25 years
Average Length	6.0 m	2.4 m
Average Weight	6.0 t	450.0 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.

Polar bear

Habitat

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

Range

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

African elephant

地球上最大の陸上動物であるアフリカゾウは体重7,000 kgに達し、サハラ以南のサバンナ、森林、湿地に生息する。成熟した雌が群れを率いる高度に知的な社会構造を持ち、超低周波音やうなり声、接触によって意思疎通する。木を引き倒したり水飲み場を掘ったり種子を散布したりすることで生態系を形成するエンジニア種だが、象牙の密猟や生息地の喪失により個体数は減少しており、危急（VU）とされている。

Polar bear

地球上で最大の陸上肉食動物であるホッキョクグマは700kgを超えることがあり、カナダからロシアまでの北極海氷域全体に分布する。ワモンアザラシとヒゲアザラシを狩るために海氷に依存する高度に特化した海洋哺乳類である。広大な距離を泳ぐことができる優れた泳者でもある。脆弱種に指定されており、気候変動による急激な北極海氷の消失で個体群が深刻な圧力を受けている。