Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
The Asian elephant can weigh up to 5400 kg (11,900 lb). It currently occupies forested habitats in hilly or mountainous terrain, up to about 3600 m (11,800'). An adult eats approximately 150 kg (330 lb) per day - mainly grasses but also leaves, twigs and bark. It feeds during the morning, evening and night and rests during the middle of the day, requiring shade during the hot season to keep from overheating. Elephants cannot go for long without water (they require 70-90 liters (19-24 gal) of fluid/day) and sometimes must travel long distances each day between their water supplies and feeding areas.
One calf is born every 3-4 years after a pregnancy lasting about 22 months. Although mature male elephants may live alone, females live in family groups consisting of mothers, daughters and sisters, together with immature males. Wild elephants can live to be sixty years old.
Asian Elephant range
The Asian elephant once ranged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in ancient Mesopotamia in the west, east through Asia south of the Himalaya to Indochina and the Malay Peninsula, including Sri Lanka and Sumatra and possibly Java, and north into China at least as far as the Yangtze River. In the 19th century it was still common over much of the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and the eastern parts of its range. By 1978, Asian elephants were found in the same countries as they are at present.
Technological advances, together with other factors associated with colonialism, led in most countries to a drastic crash in elephant numbers during the 19th century. (Olivier 1978) "With the spread of civilization and growth of population, the area under cultivation for the production of food has rapidly extended during recent decades. Consequently the former feeding-grounds of wild elephants have diminished,..." (Gee 1950) After the introduction of firearms to Sri Lanka around 1950, cultivators killed more than 300 elephants in seven years to protect their crops. (Morgan-Davies 1958)
Female Asian elephants are not affected by ivory poaching (due to their lack of tusks), so poaching has not affected the overall population numbers of Asian elephants as drastically as it has in the case of the African elephant. The single most important cause of the decline of the Asian elephant has been the loss of habitat. They have also been affected by persecution due to the crop damage they are perceived to cause.
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