Elephants are the largest land mammals on Earth, weighing up to 6 tons. To sustain their massive size, they need to eat a lot of food – up to 600 pounds a day! If you’re wondering what’s on the elephant diet, fruits make up an important part.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: elephants enjoy eating a variety of fruits including mangoes, bananas, melons, apples, oranges and more when available in their habitat.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover the different types of fruits that elephants eat, which parts of the fruits they consume, how much and how often they eat fruit, if fruit picking affects elephants and more.
Fruits Elephants Love to Eat
Mangoes
Mangoes are one of the most popular fruits with elephants. These sweet and juicy tropical fruits contain lots of vitamin C and fiber. Elephants seem to really enjoy the soft, fleshy texture of mangoes. In fact, wild elephants are known to travel long distances just to find mango trees!
They use their dexterous trunks to pluck and peel the fruits. Elephants can devour dozens of mangoes in one feeding. No wonder mangoes are often referred to as the “king of fruits” in elephant habitats like India and Southeast Asia.
Bananas
Bananas are another fruit that elephants absolutely love. These easy-to-eat snacks are filled with potassium and vitamin B6. Elephants are able to grasp bunches of bananas with their trunks and skillfully peel them with their tusks. They may eat the whole fruit or just the fleshy pulp inside.
Elephants living in captivity often receive bananas as treats from zookeepers and trainers. Some researchers suggest that bananas helped ancient humans initially gain the trust of wild elephants since they were considered prized fruits.
Melons
Various types of melons, like watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew, are relished by elephants. These large fruit provide elephants with hydration and essential vitamins. Elephants seem to favor the sweet taste and juicy texture of melons.
In the wild, they use their powerful trunk muscles to open up tough rinds to access the soft flesh inside. Melon seeds are also eagerly consumed for their protein and fat content. Providing elephants with halved or quartered melons is common at zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.
Apples
Apples are a crunchy treat that elephants appear to enjoy. The combination of sweetness and tartness seems pleasing to their taste buds. Elephants at zoos are often fed apples as snacks by caretakers. They’ll deftly pick up whole apples with their trunks, sometimes tossing them in the air first.
Then elephants skillfully use their tusks or feet to pierce the apple skin to get to the juicy interior. There’s just something about the crisp texture of apples that elephants find very appetizing.
Oranges
Juicy, citrusy oranges are another fruit that’s eagerly consumed by elephants. Oranges provide lots of vitamin C along with antioxidants, folate, and fiber. Elephants seem to relish peeling oranges and popping the juicy segments into their mouths with their trunks.
In fact, giving oranges to elephants has been used historically by mahouts in India to help train young calves. The elephants quickly learn to receive the treat gently using their trunks. Oranges likely remind elephants of similar sweet and sour fruits they would find in tropical forests.
Figs
Elephants living in Africa love snacking on figs from wild fig trees. These unique fruits contain high amounts of calcium, potassium, and vitamin K. Elephants enjoy the sweet taste and soft, chewy consistency of figs.
In fact, famished elephant herds are known to devour entire fig crops during droughts, sometimes knocking over trees in their haste. Figs have a laxative effect on elephants, helping them avoid digestive issues.
That’s why wildlife sanctuaries in Africa often cultivate fig trees to supplement the diets of their resident elephants.
Guavas
Guavas are a tropical treat relished by elephants in Asia and Africa. These odd-looking fruits boast tons of vitamin C, lycopene, and antioxidants. Elephants seem to enjoy the sweet/tart flavor and creamy texture when guavas are perfectly ripe.
In the wild, they’ll eat whole guavas right off the tree branches. At zoos and sanctuaries, elephants are often fed guava halves or slices by their caretakers. Interestingly, scientists found that some elephants in India migrate in patterns that follow seasonal guava fruiting.
Guavas provide yet another tasty and nutritious fruit option for elephants.
Parts of Fruits Elephants Eat
Elephants eat a wide variety of plant parts, including the fleshy parts of fruits. The fleshy pulp or pericarp is often rich in sugars and fiber, providing elephants with an excellent source of energy. Some fleshy fruits elephants are known to eat include:
- Berries – Elephants will readily eat fruits like blackberries, raspberries, and mulberries when available.
- Melons – Watermelons, cantaloupe, and honeydew melons are enjoyed by elephants.
- Gourds – Squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers are relished by elephants for their water content.
- Citrus Fruits – Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes provide vitamin C.
- Bananas – A favorite of elephants, bananas are easily digested.
- Apples – Apples, along with other pomes like pears, are crunchy favorites.
- Mangos – Highly prized by elephants, mangos offer both juicy flesh and a large pit.
- Peaches – Soft, fuzzy peaches are a delightful treat for elephants.
- Plums – Plums, apricots, cherries, and nectarines add variety.
- Pomegranates – The edible arils surrounding the seeds are enjoyed.
Elephants will typically eat the entire fleshy part of fruits, rind and all. Their massive teeth and jaws make short work of these fruits. The flesh provides hydration as well as key nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and healthy sugars.
This diverse blend of fruits is important to elephant health.
In addition to the fleshy pulp, elephants derive benefits from the seeds contained within many fruits. Seeds provide:
- Fiber – Seeds are often rich in insoluble fiber that promotes digestive health.
- Protein – Seeds can provide small amounts of protein to help build and repair tissues.
- Fats – The oil within seeds delivers valuable fats and essential fatty acids.
- Phytochemicals – Compounds like lignans, saponins, and phenols act as antioxidants.
- Minerals – Seeds supply minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, and selenium.
Some seeds elephants are especially fond of include:
- Pits – Peaches, mangoes, dates, and olives all bear hard, nutritious pits.
- Pomegranates – The edible seeds are relished for their juicy, tart flavor.
- Gourds – Pumpkins, squash, and melons have large, nutritious seeds.
- Legumes – Tamarind and carob pods contain small, nutritious seeds.
- Nuts – When available, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and pecans are prized.
Elephants use their powerful jaws to crush through seed coats and ingest the whole seed. This aids digestion while delivering a spectrum of nutritional benefits elephants need. The variety of seeds elephants eat contributes to their diverse, healthy diets.
How Often and How Much Fruit Elephants Eat
Elephants are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants. Fruit makes up an important part of their diverse diet. On average, elephants will eat around 150-600 pounds of food per day. This consists mostly of grasses, leaves, bark and twigs.
However, they also enjoy eating various types of fruit when available.
The amount and frequency of fruit consumption depends on a few factors:
- Habitat – Elephants living in tropical forests have more access to fruit than those in drier grasslands.
- Season – Fruit is more plentiful during wet seasons when trees are fruiting.
- Species – African forest elephants tend to eat more fruit than African bush elephants or Asian elephants.
- Age – Baby elephants will eat some fruit but mainly get nutrients from their mother’s milk until around 2 years old.
On average, fruit may make up 10-25% of an elephant’s diet. However, this percentage can fluctuate significantly. During fruiting seasons in tropical forests, over 50% of an elephant’s food intake may be fruit. When fruit is scarce, they rely much more on grasses and vegetation.
Elephants need to spend a good part of their day eating to sustain their large bodies. An adult elephant may spend 16-18 hours per day feeding. They will take breaks to rest, sleep and socialize. Elephants may eat both day and night, but peak feeding times are often early morning and late afternoon.
Some of the fruits that elephants enjoy include:
- Bananas
- Mangos
- Papayas
- Berries
- Melons
- Coconuts
- Figs
- Apple mangos
Elephants will travel long distances when they sense ripe fruit. They can smell fruit from up to 10 miles away using their excellent sense of smell. When fruit is in season, elephants will spend more time in fruiting areas.
They may shake trees to make fruit fall or use their tusks and trunks to break branches.
Baby elephants start experimenting with fruit once they are a few months old. However, they continue to nurse frequently. By around 2-4 years old, young elephants will be eating mostly grasses, leaves and some fruit under the guidance of their mothers.
Fruit provides elephants with important nutrients like vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. It offers a nice sweet flavor and variety to balance their otherwise fibrous diet. Next time you see an elephant eating fruit, you can appreciate that they are enjoying a tasty seasonal treat!
Fruit Picking Behavior and Its Impact
Elephants are incredibly intelligent animals with complex behaviors when it comes to foraging and feeding. Their fruit picking behavior and habits can have significant impacts on the landscapes they inhabit.
Fruit Selection
African elephants prefer fruits that are abundant, easy to harvest, and high in sugars or minerals. Their favorites tend to be fruits from trees like marula, jackalberry, corkwood, and sausage trees. Asian elephants enjoy picking a wide variety of wild fruits as well, like figs, mangoes, bananas, and mellons.
Elephants use their powerful sense of smell to locate ripe, fallen fruit. They use their tusks and trunks to break branches and dislodge unpicked fruits straight from the trees. Elephants have even been observed waiting under fruit trees for ripe fruits to fall.
Seed Dispersal
As elephants feed on fruits, they ingest the seeds which pass through their digestive system undamaged. Elephants travel great distances, dispersing these seeds far from the parent tree through their dung. This helps plant propagation and the biodiversity of landscapes.
Research in South Africa found over 60 tree species germinated from elephant dung samples. Without elephants transporting and depositing seeds, many fruiting tree populations would be localized and have difficulty colonizing new areas.
Impacts on Vegetation
High elephant densities in small habitat ranges can decimate tree populations. The bark stripping, branch breaking, and uprooting caused by elephants seeking fruits takes a toll on individual trees and broader forests.
In Zimbabwe’s Chizarira National Park, elephant fruit feeding was shown to negatively impact populations of large sausage trees. Other studies in South Africa found elephants caused up to 55% of tree damage in forest and woodland areas.
However, lower elephant densities in large ranges likely play an important ecological role. Their fruit feeding enhances biodiversity through seed dispersal and their trailblazing creates pathways for other animals.
Availability of Fruit in Elephant Habitats
Elephants inhabit a variety of habitats across Africa and Asia, from lush rainforests to arid savannas. The availability of fruit in these habitats varies greatly depending on climate, geography, and seasonality. Here is an overview of fruit availability across major elephant habitats:
Tropical Rainforests
Tropical rainforests, found in parts of Africa and Asia, offer an abundance of fruit for elephants year-round. Forest elephants in Central Africa have access to over 500 plant species and feast on fruits like mangos, figs, and bananas.
Asian elephants in Sri Lanka and India also thrive on a diverse fruit diet including jackfruit, bamboo, and palms. Fruit is vastly available even in the dry season.
Savannas
Savannas have sparser vegetation and fruit compared to rainforests. African bush elephants rely on seasonal fruiting plants like marula, sausage tree, and acacia. Fruit is more abundant in the wet season from November to April when elephants can find over 25 species of edible fruits and pods.
In the dry season from May to October, fruit is scarce and elephants consume more bark and leaves.
Deserts
Deserts like the Namib in Africa and Thar in India have harsh conditions with limited water and vegetation. There are fewer fruiting plants, and those that do grow fruit do so sporadically based on rare rainfall.
Desert elephants walk long distances between watering holes and fruiting shrubs, feeding opportunistically on desert date, acacia pods, and dry shrub fruits.
Mountain Habitats
In mountainous habitats at high altitudes in Africa and Asia, fruit availability varies by elevation. Lower altitudes tend to have more diverse fruiting trees. At higher elevations, fruits are limited to dwarf shrubs and herbs. Fruiting cycles depend on seasonal rains and temperature.
Elephants may migrate vertically between elevations following fruiting cycles.
In all habitats, fruit availability fluctuates between seasons, years, and locations. Elephants are adaptable feeders, switching between fruits, leaves, bark, and grasses depending on what’s available. Their versatile diets and far-ranging habits allow them to find fruit across diverse environments.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a variety of juicy, sweet fruits comprise part of the elephant diet when available. While elephants enjoy mangoes, bananas, melons and more, they tend to go for the flesh rather than the skins or seeds of most fruits.
The availability of fruit influences how much and how often elephants eat them, ranging from daily to seasonal consumption. By understanding what fruits elephants eat, we gain better insight into their nutritional needs and the role of fruit crops in human-elephant relations.
