African Elephant
Sounds & Calls
African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana)
The African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest living land animal and found in at least 23 countries across Africa. This species is currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is threatened by to habitat loss and poaching for the ivory trade.
What sounds does an elephant make? Elephants make a number of different sounds from deep, low frequency rumbles to loud growls, roars and trumpeting sounds. Elephant communication includes infrasound which is beyond the range of human hearing. These low-frequency sounds travel both in the air and through the ground, and enable elephants to communicate over long distances.
Listen to some examples of elephant calls and sounds below.
Listen to African Elephant Sounds
The audio in the video below features deep rumbling roars and loud trumpeting calls from a herd of wild African Bush Elephants. Recorded in Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana.
Elephant Sounds and Communication
African Elephants live in complex family groups led by a matriarch, and they spend a lot of their time splitting up and reuniting. Sound is a key part of how they stay connected.
Low sounds travel a long way, and experiments have shown that elephants respond to rumbles from up to 2.5 km away. Family members who have become separated, particularly closely bonded females, exchange rumbles to coordinate their movements and find each other again.
Researchers have even found that wild elephants appear to address each other with something like a name. In a 2024 study of wild elephants in Kenya, calls could be matched to the individual being addressed, and in playback tests the elephants responded more strongly to calls that had been addressed to them. /p>
Read more: Elephant Acoustic Communication (ElephantVoices) | Pardo et al. (2024), Nature Ecology & Evolution | Vocal communication in African elephants (Zoo Biology, 2010)
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Other African Wildlife Sounds
- Baboon, Chacma (Papio ursinus)
- Bat, Epauletted Fruit (Epomophorus sp.)
- Bushbaby (Galago & Otolemur)
- Bushbuck, Cape (Tragelaphus sylvaticus)
- Eland, Common (Taurotragus oryx)
- Elephant, African Bush (Loxodonta africana)
- Fox, Bat-eared (Otocyon megalotis)
- Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)
- Hyena, Spotted (Crocuta crocuta)
- Hyrax, Rock (Procavia capensis)
- Impala (Aepyceros melampus)
- Jackal, Black-backed (Lupulella mesomelas)
- Jackal, Side-striped (Lupulella adusta)
- Kudu, Greater (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)
- Leopard (Panthera pardus)
- Lion (Panthera leo)
- Monkey, Vervet (Chlorocebus pygerythrus)
- Pig, Bush (Potamochoerus larvatus)
- Puku (Kobus vardonii)
- Rhinoceros, White (Ceratotherium simum)
- Squirrel, Smith's Bush (Paraxerus cepapi)