African elephant vs paricá

Loxodonta africana compared with Anadenanthera peregrina

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while paricá is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	paricá
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (plantas)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Fabaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Anadenanthera
Species	Loxodonta africana	Anadenanthera peregrina

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

paricá

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	paricá
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

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.

paricá

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

African elephant

O elefante africano, o maior animal terrestre da Terra, pode atingir 7.000 kg e habita savanas, florestas e zonas húmidas da África subsaariana. Com estruturas sociais complexas lideradas por matriarcas, comunica através de infrassons, rugidos e contacto físico. Como engenheiro do ecossistema, modela o habitat arrancando árvores, escavando poços de água e dispersando sementes. Está classificado como Vulnerável (VU), com populações em declínio devido à caça furtiva de marfim e à perda de habitat.

paricá

Cohoba (Anadenanthera peregrina), also known as Yopo or Parica, is a large leguminous tree in the family Fabaceae native to the tropical savannas (llanos), gallery forests, and dry to moist forests of South America, with its range extending from Venezuela and Colombia south through the Guyanas, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. Trees grow 5–20 metres tall, bearing bipinnate leaves and spherical, fluffy white flower heads characteristic of the mimosoid legumes. The flat, curved seed pods split open to reveal seeds rich in tryptamine alkaloids, particularly bufotenin (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and related compounds. Seeds are traditionally prepared by indigenous peoples of the Orinoco and Amazon basins as a psychedelic snuff called cohoba or yopo, inhaled through hollow bird-bone tubes during shamanic and ritual ceremonies. This use, documented since pre-Columbian times and depicted in archaeological artefacts, gave rise to the common name cohoba used in Taíno language. The tree is not threatened and has a broad natural distribution; it is not formally evaluated by the IUCN. Beyond its ethnobotanical significance, Anadenanthera peregrina is valued for its tannin-rich bark used in leather tanning, and the wood serves locally for construction and fuel.