East Asian Micro Elephant

Introduction

The East Asian Micro Elephant, or Elephas minimus Indicus, is an herbivorous pachyderm native to East Asia. Compared to other elephant species, it has many differences. Its two most prominent traits are its small size and lack of tusks. It’s primary habitat is rainforests, forests, and tall grass fields in east asian countries, such as India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China. It can easily be recognized by its unique size.

The micro elephant is the only relative of the Indian Elephant that still lives in the wild. All other evolutionary divisions of the Indian Elephant went extinct in the wild due to the rapid change in the local environment. The micro elephant is still considered vulnerable due to their lackluster population.

Etymology

The full scientific name of the east asian micro elephant is Elephas minimus Indicus. Elephas refers to the species group of elephants, minimus refers to their small size. They are small because of their adaptations to their changing environment. Indicus means India, which is their country of origin, however, they do live in many nearby countries as well.

Habitat and Population

The east asian micro elephant lives in forests, rainforests, and grasslands. They have been spotted in many east asian countries such as India, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Several thousand of them are known to live in the wild. It lives in familial groups of 6-12 called Elephantidae. Because of its small size, it has become prey for larger predators such as tigers and cougars.

The micro elephant lives for around 40 to 50 years. It’s life cycle has 3 distinct phases like other species of elephant, the infant, the adolescent, and the adult, Like most other mammals, it is born from a mother. Infancy lasts from when the elephant is born to when it stops depending on its mother’s milk. This phase lasts for about 3-5 years. The adolescent phase lasts usually 5 to 10 years, it ends when the elephant is 17 years old. The adolescent phase is the period between when the elephant is no longer breastfeeding and when it begins to mate. The adult phase begins when the elephant starts to mate, and lasts until the elephant dies. It usually lasts around 25 years.

History

The micro elephant evolved from the recently extinct in the wild Indian Elephant. The indian elephant was facing many problems in its rapidly changing climate. It was facing habitat loss due to human expansion, as well as being poached for its tusks. Its slow reproduction made it unable to maintain a sturdy population. When the Indian Elephant was on its last legs, the first ancestors of the micro elephant were coming into being. Over time, the species became smaller and began to reproduce more, as well as replacing its tusks with digging claws. These adaptations allowed the micro elephant to live on in its new environment. With less available habitat, they were not able to reach the numbers the indian elephant once had, but they still became a stable addition to their local ecosystem.

Evolution

The most glaring differences in the micro elephant are its small size and lack of tusks. Its size shrunk so that it required less food and could reproduce more, and it lost its tusks because they were often being killed for their tusks, so the ones who did not grow tusks lived on. Since they can no longer use tusks to dig, they have developed small claws on their hind legs to dig holes.

The micro elephant follows many of the same behaviors as other species of elephants, such as their herd grouping and familial structure. However, they do have some nuances, such as eating much more grass rather than leaves due to their inability to reach as high. Since they can’t reach high enough to grab the leaves and fruits of most trees, they mostly eat grass, shrubs, and the occasional low hanging leaves.

Summary

The East Asian Micro Elephant is a unique species of elephant from East Asia that has a much smaller size and lack of tusks. It has made these changes to survive in a harsh environment that its ancestors were ill suited for. It shrunk in size to require less food and to reproduce more often. They mostly eat grass and sometimes leaves since they can’t reach very high due to their size. Considering the other species of elephant, this one is certainly the most unique.

Works Cited

“Indian Elephant.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Dec. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_elephant.

National Geographic Society, “Photo Ark: Indian Elephant.” National Geographic Society, 5 June 2018

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/photo-ark-indian-elephant/

“UCSB Science Line.” UCSB Science Line, UCSB, scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=5084.

“Indian Elephant.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/species/indian-elephant.

Meyer, Amelia. “Elephants Forever.” Elephant Life Cycle, Elephants Forever, 1 Jan. 1970, www.elephantsforever.co.za/life-cycle.html.