Asian Elephant

Vocabulary: depigmentation, poaching, musth, matriarchal, herbivores, infrasonic

"Biligiri seemed unsure of what to do with himself. The entire afternoon he had been hesitant, shuffling up and down the welltrodden path that ran through the jungle to the pond. He listened to sounds of music and laughter, of a child wailing, the squeak of a wheel cranking up a bucket of water from a well, of wet clothes being beaten against a stone, but he did not really take them in. Not today. They seemed rather jumbled. He was undergoing a strange transformation, a transformation which was perfectly normal for his age, though he did not know it. His entire body was alight, there was a dull ache in his temples, his blood seemed to rush with a new urgency. For the first time he was in musth. And he was confused, like other sixteen year olds. Biligiri was an adolescent wild male Asian elephant. He was at Kyatedevaragudi in the Biligirirangan hills of southern India. The date was 19 January 1983." (Excerpted from Elephant Days & Nights, 10 Years with the Indian Elephant by Raman Sukumar, pg. 1)

"Elephant Crossing Sign from Indonesia"
Photo by Kathy Prout of Frank Antonides

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Physical Appearance: Asian elephants differ in several ways from their African relatives. They have smaller ears which are straight at the bottom, unlike the large fan-shape ears of the African species. Asian elephants are much smaller, weighing between 6,615 and 11,020 pounds at a height of about 7 to 12 feet compared to the 8,820 to 15,430 at 10 to 13 feet of the African elephant.

Adaptations: The Sri Lankan species (E. m. maximus) is the largest, darkest, and has patches of depigmentation (an area without color) on their ears, face, trunk and belly. The Sumatran (E. m. sumatranus) elephant is the smallest and lightest. The third sub-species, E. m. indicus has a mix of characteristics from the two other sub-species.

Geographic Range: Asian elephants live in fragmented forests in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China (extinct in wild), Malaysia, Indonesia, and Borneo.

Biomes: Tropical savanna, tropical rainforest, tropical deciduous forest, mountains (Himalayas).

Habitat: Asian elephants live in many different habitats including open grasslands, marshes, savannas and forests.

IUCN Status: Endangered The IUCN's Species Survival Commission's Asian Elephant Specialist Group estimates that there are approximately 38,000 to 51,000 wild Asian elephants. In comparison, there are more than 600,000 African elephants.

Threats To Survival: The loss of habitat is the primary threat to Asian elephants. Approximately 20% of the world's population lives in or near the range of Asian elephants. The homes of these elephants are being cleared for many reasons including warfare, agricultural development, human settlement, and logging. Asian elephants are less prone to poaching (killing elephants for ivory tusks) because few males (and no females) grow tusks. In China, the penalty for poaching is the death sentence.
Conflicts between Asian elephants and humans often occur because of habitat destruction. Sometimes there is not enough food in small forests to sustain elephants, so they look for the nearest source which is usually the field of a local farmer. Dr. Sukumar (profiled in The Wild Times Winter 1996 issue) is studying this human-elephant conflict and looking for ways to ease the tension.


"Bath Time" Asian cow and calves in Sri Lanka
photo by Mary Pearl

Reproductive Cycle and Habits: Female Asian elephants are capable of giving birth approximately every 4-6 years, about 7 calves in a lifetime. Babies are carried inside elephant mothers for 19-22 months, almost 2 years. Asian elephants can live as long as 60-70 old. When adult male elephants search for a female to breed with they produce musth fluid signaling females that they are ready to mate. Elephants live in matriarchal (mother headed) families. Mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts all help raising babies. Male Asian elephants live alone or in male only groups.

Diet: Asian elephants are among the largest herbivores (plant eaters) preferring grasses, leaves, trees, and shrubs. Their diet varies from acacia trees to wild mangos.

Language: How many ways can you communicate? Asian elephants talk to each other by touch, sound and scent. When a young Asian elephant is stressed and nervous they will go to an adult and place the tip of their trunk in the adults mouth. Elephants also use a broad range of sounds to communicate. Recently scientists noticed elephants talk to each other at infrasonic (sounds humans are unable to hear) levels. Males secrete musth, a signal to local females that males are ready to reproduce.

Cultural Importance: Humans use elephants in Asia to log forests, transport heavy loads and carry tourists. Elephants can walk in areas where machines are unable to navigate. About 15,000 Asian elephants are held in captivity as work animals. Elephants are important in Asian folklore and religion. They are believed to be cousins of the clouds and able to cause lightening.