A lone female Sicilian dwarf elephant looking for the watering hole.
Sicilian dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon falconeri) is a dwarf species of elephant that are native to much of the Mediterranean Islands, despite its name. Hence their names, these elephants are tiny, with males growing only to about 3 feet tall and weighing 500 pounds, with females only growing to about 2.5 feet tall and weighing 420 pounds. These elephants are herbivores, mainly feeding on grass, leaves, berries, and sometimes flowers. Sicilian dwarf tiny elephants are actually more closely related to the African elephants than to Asian elephants, despite their appearances. Once around 8,000 years ago to 4,000 years ago, these elephants were in danger of becoming extinct due to human activities and introduced predators such as cats and dogs, but thanks to conservation and genetic engineering from Maverick Hunters around the same time, Sicilian dwarf elephants have made a comeback and can now tolerate nonnative predators and human activities, they can even survive and thrive well in human settlements. Sicilian dwarf elephants also make great pets and guide animals, unlike their larger relatives (which are too big and too hard to care for and keep), being about as tame as some guide horses and don't get scared easily, and they don't poop as much and eat less food than other elephants, another advantage on keeping dwarf elephants as pets.
| Sicilian Dwarf Elephant |
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