Asian Elephant

Endangered

Elephas Maximus

Size: 8.2 - 10.5 feet to the shoulder, sometimes up to 13 feet and 21 feet long. 8,000 - 15,000 pounds.

Lifespan: More than 50 years.

Range/Habitat: India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia in scrub forest and the fringe of the rain forest.

Elephant herds consist of females and their offspring, with males leaving at age thirteen to form bachelor groups. The herd is run by a head matriarch that decides when the herd moves and for how long, where they stop to rest, eat, and drink. The other females in the herd are mature by age fourteen and once they have begun breeding, they give birth once every four years. Elephant gestation lasts for 20-22 months and results in only one calf.

Elephants are sometimes referred to as pachyderms, which literally means, “thick skin”. In fact, elephants and hippopotamuses are both pachyderms and can have skin up to one inch thick. Despite the thickness of their skin, elephants are extremely sensitive, to the point where they can feel a fly land on their skin. They continually spray or cover themselves with water, mud, or dust to keep the sun off their skin.

Conservation Concerns:

Asian Elephants are endangered due to loss of habitat from human encroachment and are killed both for their tusks, and for damage done to crops or while rampaging during musth.