African elephant vs plains zebra

Loxodonta africana compared with Equus quagga

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while plains zebra is Near Threatened.
• African elephant is 17.1x heavier than plains zebra.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 25 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	plains zebra
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class same	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Perissodactyla (perissodáctilos)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Equidae (Horses & Zebras)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Equus (Horses & Zebras)
Species	Loxodonta africana	Equus quagga

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and plains zebra share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (mamíferos)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

plains zebra

NT — Near Threatened

Population: ~750.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	plains zebra
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	25 years
Average Length	6.0 m	2.3 m
Average Weight	6.0 t	350.0 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.

plains zebra

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

Distributed across Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

plains zebra

O equideo selvagem mais numeroso, as zebras-das-planices habitam pastagens e savanas do leste e sul da Africa em manadas que variam de pequenos grupos familiares a vastas agregacoes. Seus padroes de listras preto-e-brancas ousados sao unicos para cada individuo e podem servir para confundir predadores, deter insetos picadores e facilitar o reconhecimento individual. As zebras formam presa chave para leoes, hienas e crocodilos, sustentando as cadeias alimentares da savana.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇰🇪 Kenya