Indian elephant

Widely distributed but endangered

Common Name		Indian elephant, Asian elephant ; Eléphant d'Inde(Fr); Elefante Asiático(Sp)
Scientific Name		Elephas maximus indicus
Location		South Asia, eastern Asia
Status		IUCN:Endangered (EN - A1cd) CITES: Appendix I
Population		20,000-25,000

Background

This information has been reviewed.

Distributed from India, where it occurs in largest numbers, to Borneo, where only small vestigial populations persist, the Indian elephant plays an important ecological and cultural role in Asia.

WWF's efforts for elephants in South Asia include limiting human impacts on elephant populations in the Western Terai, India, while activities carried out in some of the priority landscapes in the south Asia like Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats, Terai Arc and North Bank landscapes aim to prevent further habitat loss and, most importantly, lower anger levels against elephants.

Through the Asian Rhinos and Elephants Action Strategy (AREAS), WWF invests each year into anti-poaching operations, and the programme is currently helping to develop an anti-poaching strategy.

Physical Description

Distinct anatomical differences from mainland Asian elephants have prompted some taxonomists to give the Bornean elephant subspecies status.

Despite these differences, often rumoured but never studied, stories persist that Borneo's elephant population may have originated from domesticated elephants released by either the Sultan of Brunei or the Sultan of Sulu, adding a special twist to the mystique of these elephants.

The peculiarly restricted distribution on Borneo, the lack of truly fossilised remains and the lack of indigenous names for the species elsewhere on the island, lend credence to this theory but do not confirm it.

Colour
The skin colour of Asian elephants is dark grey to brown, with patches of pink on the forehead, the ears, the base of the trunk and chest.

Habitat

Biogeographic realm
Indo-Malayan

Range States
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam

Geographical Location
South Asia, eastern Asia

Ecological Region
Eastern Deccan Plateau Moist Forests, Chhota-Nagpur Dry Forests, Kayah-Karen / Tenasserim Moist Forests, Northeast Borneo, Peninsular Malaysian Lowland and Mountain Forests, Cardamom Mountains Moist Forests, Indochina Dry Forests, Annamite Range Moist Forests, Mekong River, Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests, Salween River , Southwestern Ghats Moist Forests.

Why is this species important?

According to Indian mythology, as the Gods (Deva) and the demons (Asura) churned the oceans for the elixir of life - 'amrit' (nectar) - so that they would become immortal, the 'navratnas' (nine jewels) surfaced.

One of these was the elephant. Consequently, the elephant is extremely valued, and therefore must be preserved and protected, just as a jewel would be. In many places across India, elephants are worshipped as Lord Ganesha (he is represented as a human form with an elephant head), and one prays to this deity before an undertaking in order to remove obstacles.

Interesting Facts

When grasses are too short to be picked up with its trunk, the elephant scrapes the ground with its forefeet until a loose pile of grasses is formed, then sweeps the pile into its mouth with the "hand" of the trunk.