African elephant vs red kangaroo

Loxodonta africana compared with Macropus rufus

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while red kangaroo is Least Concern.
• African elephant is 70.6x heavier than red kangaroo.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 16 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	red kangaroo
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class same	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Macropodidae (Kangaroos)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Macropus (Kangaroos)
Species	Loxodonta africana	Macropus rufus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

red kangaroo

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~11.5M

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	red kangaroo
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	16 years
Average Length	6.0 m	1.6 m
Average Weight	6.0 t	85.0 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.

red kangaroo

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found in Australia.

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.

red kangaroo

O canguru-vermelho (Macropus rufus) e o maior canguru e o maior marsupial da Terra. Pode atingir 2 metros de altura e pesar 90 kg, habitando as regioes aridas e semiaridas do interior da Australia. Altamente adaptado as duras condicoes do deserto, pode sobreviver longos periodos sem beber agua extraindo a umidade da vegetacao. As potentes patas traseiras permitem saltos de 9 metros e velocidades de ate 70 km/h. Os machos participam em combates rituais de boxe para competir pelas femeas.