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Size vs

How big is African bush elephant?

African bush elephant: 3.2 m (10.5 ft). Measured as shoulder height — an adult bull.

African bush elephant 3.2 m next to human adult 1.7 mAfrican bush elephant is 3.2 m and human adult is 1.7 m, drawn on one baseline at the same scale.
African bush elephant 3.2 m next to human adult 1.7 mAfrican bush elephant is 3.2 m and human adult is 1.7 m, drawn on one baseline at the same scale.

Source: Wikipedia — African bush elephant

Where it sits

Among the 23 animals on this page African bush elephant ranks 12th from the top by size. The largest in the group is blue whale at 29.9 m, which is 9.34× the size of African bush elephant, while the smallest, honey bee, is 13 mm.

Stand an adult of 1.7 m beside it and the ratio is 1.88×: you would need 1 people stacked head to foot to match its size.

In everyday distances

It fits inside a football pitch 33 times over — a pitch is about 105 m and African bush elephant is only 3.2 m.

Walking at an easy 1.4 m/s you cover 3.2 m in 2.3 seconds. A jet at 900 km/h covers it in 13 milliseconds.

Next to its neighbours in size

The nearest thing larger than it in this collection is great white shark at 4.6 m (15.1 ft), 1.44× the size. Note the two figures are not the same measurement: for African bush elephant it is shoulder height, for great white shark it is length.

The nearest thing smaller is Komodo dragon at 2.6 m (8.53 ft), so African bush elephant is 1.23× as big as it. They sit in the same group.

Against fixed yardsticks

Against three fixed yardsticks — Eiffel Tower (330 m) is 103× the size of African bush elephant; blue whale (29.9 m) is 9.34× the size of African bush elephant; Earth (12,742 km) is 3,981,875× the size of African bush elephant.

How this figure was taken

Animal sizes vary from one individual to the next, so each figure says which individual or average it describes. Heights are taken at the shoulder or standing; lengths run nose to tail tip unless stated.

How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.

Read the rest — common questions

How big is the African bush elephant?

3.2 m (10.5 ft), measured as shoulder height: an adult bull.

Where does the African bush elephant rank among animals?

Number 12 of 23 on this site, from blue whale at 29.9 m down to honey bee at 13 mm.

What is the next size up?

Great white shark, at 4.6 m, is 1.44× the size.

What is the next size down?

Komodo dragon, at 2.6 m, is 1.23× smaller.

How reliable is the figure?

It is taken from the cited Wikipedia article and states its basis (an adult bull). Values are rounded, and where individuals differ the figure is a representative one, so expect small differences from other sources.

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