Elephant Alimentary System - Anatomy & Physiology

Introduction

Elephant anatomy is very much comparable to the horse and rabbit. Microbes are present in the hindgut that produce Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs). VFAs make a substantial contribution to the elephant's total energy requirements. Food has a relatively fast transit time and as a result elephants have a low digestive efficiency (44% as opposed to 60% in horses). A fast transit time is achieved by a short GIT, reduced caecum and increased GIT diameter. Their digestive strategy is to pass as large a quantity of low quality food through their digestive tract within a short period of time.

Features

• Natural diet is high in fibre (36%) and low in protein (7-10%)
• Juvenile elephants require 3 kg of feed per 100kg of body weight per day
• The passage time of food through the gastrointestinal tract ranges from 18 to 24 hours.
• No gall bladder
• Taenia and sacculations are not as clearly defined as in the horse