Asian Elephant

Asian elephants have thick gray to brown skin scattered with bristles and hairs. Adult males measure 2.4 to 3.1 meters (8-10 feet) at the shoulders and weigh 2,700-5,000 kilograms (6,000-11,000 lbs). Females are slightly smaller.

Q: Are they the same as African elephants?

A: Compared to African elephants, Asian elephants are smaller, and have smaller ears and a flatter forehead

The Asian elephant's trunk is actually an elongation of the nose and has a finger-like projection at the tip that is very sensitive and dexterous. The elephant uses its trunk to breathe, smell, drink (suck up water and put it into its mouth), and to hold and carry objects. Only the male Asian elephant has ivory tusks.

Q: Where do these elephants live?

A: Although the historic range of the Asian elephant was more extensive, today they inhabit forested areas and adjacent grass and scrub land in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Q: What are their eating habits?

A: In the morning, evening and night, they forage for grasses, leaves, twigs and bark. They rest during the hot mid-day. Elephants will also eat agricultural crops such as bananas and sugar, if available. Asian elephants require water almost daily and will travel long distances to find it.

Q: Do Asian elephants live in groups?

A: They live in family groups of mothers, sisters, daughters, and immature males, led by an older female (cow), the matriarch. These groups are usually composed of 20 to 30 individuals but may be as large as 100. Males leave the group at the onset of sexual maturity and begin a solitary existence, which does not seem to be territorial. Males reach sexual maturity between ten and 17 years, females between nine and 12 years.

Asian elephants may live to be 60 years old in the wild. The Asian elephant is intelligent and docile (normally) and has been used by humans as a beast of burden, a circus performer, and even in war.

Q: What is the status of this species?

A: Wild populations of Asian elephants have declined almost 97 percent from the early 1900s and continue to drop. Today there are probably only 28,000-42,000 Asian elephants in the wild, down from a possible high of 250,000.

The Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered since 1977 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and is listed on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Q: What are the threats to these elephants?

A: The greatest threat to Asian elephants is habitat loss due to human encroachment. Elephants are also killed by farmers who consider them pests. Poaching for ivory is a problem, although not to the same degree as in Africa where both male and female elephants grow ivory tusks.

Traditional means of earning a living using captive Asian elephants, such as logging, are few due to changes in technology and laws. Instead, many are left begging on the streets with their mahouts (keepers) as they try to make a living. Some are killed in accidents, injured or abused, or suffer from inadequate care.

* Source: International Fund for Animal Welfare (http://www.ifaw.org/)