A herd of African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) rest under an Acacia tree, in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), in the southern Serengeti plains ecosystem, in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region, Tanzania, East Africa. Elephants, the largest living land animals, are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps help to maintain constant body temperature and to communicate. Calves are the centre of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. Due to ivory trade, habitat destruction and conflicts with local people, African bush elephants are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Maasai people named Ngorongoro Crater after the cowbell sound, "ngoro ngoro." The Serengeti Plains and Ecosystem span the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania. Based on fossil evidence found at the Olduvai Gorge, various hominid species have occupied the NCA for 3 million years. Pastoral tribes replaced hunter-gatherer groups from 2,000 years ago through the 1700s. By the 1800s, the earlier groups were displaced by the Maasai — fearsome warriors and cattle rustlers from what is now South Sudan. In 1928, hunting was prohibited on all land within the crater rim, except the former Siedentopf farms. From 1948–2024, the native pastoralists have been increasingly disenfranchised and forcibly displaced by park authorities. UNESCO honors the NCA as a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.
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