Asian Elephant

Conservation Efforts

Asian elephants are a completely separate species from African elephants and are considered endangered with a decreasing population trend. The largest threats to their numbers are increasing habitat fragmentation and development of former range areas. This brings elephants in closer proximity to humans and leads to human- elephant conflict. While poaching has not historically been as detrimental to Asian elephant populations due to the fact that only male elephants grow large tusks, there is currently a demand for elephant skin which is dried to make beads for jewelry. This has led to an increase in poaching of this species. There are a large number of important conservation initiatives for elephants. Many highlight positive ways to mitigate human-elephant conflict through education and explore safe ways to keep elephants from raiding crops.

Animal Facts

Elephants don't have a running gait. Even though elephants can move at speeds approaching 25mph, they are just walking very quickly. They also are not able to jump. Despite weighing thousands of pounds, elephants walk on thick pads that allow them to move silently.

Adult Asian elephants weigh 6000-12000 lbs. Males are typically larger than females.

Median life expectancy for Asian elephants is late 40's.

Range

Asian elephants occur in isolated populations in 13 range states including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia and Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam in South-east Asia. It is extremely difficult to get an accurate count of current population numbers due to fragmented ranges and the heavily forested terrain where some populations occur.

Animal Facts

Range

Lives at Audubon Zoo