The African bush elephant is the largest of the three species with bulls on average standing 3.2 metres tall at the shoulder and weighing 6 tonnes, the largest recorded bull stood 3.9 metres tall at the shoulder and weighed 10 tonnes. Females are smaller standing 2.6 metres tall and weighing 3 tonnes on average.
The African forest elephant is the smaller of the two African species with bulls shoulder height of between 2.4-3.0 metres and weighing between 4-7 tonnes while females are smaller with a shoulder height of 1.8-3.0 metres and only weighing between 2-4 tonnes.
The Asian elephant is the only elephant found in Asia, they are also about as distinctly related to the African elephants as we humans are to chimpanzees, in fact Asian elephants are more closely related to the extinct Woolly mammoth than the African elephants. Bulls on average have a shoulder height of 2.7 metres tall and weigh 4 tonnes, particularly large bulls have had shoulder heights of 3.4 metres and weigh 7 tonnes however there are reports of bulls being as tall as 3.7 metres. As with all species of elephant the females are smaller standing 2.4 metres tall at the shoulder and weigh 2.7 tonnes.
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