Asian Elephant Facts

"Big Mammals, Big Concerns"

How many elephant species and sub-species live in Asia?

These Asian elephant facts give you the heads up on the planet's largest land animal. Asia has only one elephant species and four sub-species spread out from India to Vietnam to Sri Lanka and Borneo:

• Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) - The most numerous sub-species with between 20,000 to 25,000 individuals.
• Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) - Limited to Sumatra, where less than three thousand animals remain.
• Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maxumus) - The largest of the sub-species, possibly 3000 individuals survive from over 10,000 elephants a century ago.
• Borneo pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) - Discovered by DNA comparisons, only one to two thousand of Asia's newest sub-species remain.

Sri Lankan sub-species cooling off
Photo: Bernard Gagnon CC

Elephant Facts: Conservation Issues and Concerns

• On the decline, all elephants are endangered species with estimated global populations being 500,000 for African elephants and 50,000 for wild Asian elephants, plus 10,000 or more domesticated animals.
• Poaching for the ivory trade, meat and hides, together with deforestation, are the primary reasons for the rapid drop in elephants over the last century.
• The loss of big tuskers to hunters and separation of populations into isolated smaller groups reduces genetic diversity leading to inbreeding and poor breeding success.

New sub-species in Borneo
Photo: Cede Prudente CC
• Deaths occur each year from human-elephant conflicts arising when elephants raid village crops from nearby forests due to easy food access, drought conditions or cut-off forest pathways to other sources.
• Asian elephants are flagship or keystone species living in habitats rich in biodiversity. Saving elephants means protecting many other endangered species such as tigers, rhinos and tapirs.
• Conservation includes establishing a network of habitats and connecting corridors that both protect elephants and allow migration in large landscapes to increase access to food and better breeding opportunites.
• In 1973, CITES designated the Asian elephant for global protection from illegal wildlife traders and banned all commercial trade in ivory and other products, but problems still persist.
• In Malaysia, the Elephant Management Unit has captured hundreds of elephants raiding village gardens and relocated them to forest habitats away from human populations.

For more information on elephants in Malaysia, visit Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary or support research and conservation activities by WWF Malaysia, Malaysian Nature Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Elephant Facts: Biology and Behavior

• Unlike in African species, only male elephants, not females, have tusks in Asia.
• As large plant eaters, elephants consume up to 150 kilograms (330 lbs) per day.
• Asian elephants are not the same size, weighing from 2 to 5 tonnes, compared to African species at 4 to 7 tonnes.
• Elephant trunks, with small fingers at the tip, are all muscle and no bones and are used to suck up and squirt water into the mouth.

Eye of an Asian Elephant
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• Asian elephant ears are much smaller than African species, but both act like amplifiers to give them excellent hearing.
• Poor eyesight only allows elephants to see about 10 meters (30-40 feet) ahead clearly.
• Tusks are really teeth that keep growing and break off or wear down due to digging, fighting or foraging.
• Elephant skin is 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick without any sweat glands, so they wallow in mud to keep moist, prevent sunburn and avoid insect bites.
• Elephants only sleep for four hours each night and do not lie down, unless weak from sickness.
• With a long pregnancy of 22 months, elephants are slow breeders, giving birth four times during a lifespan of 60 to 70 years.
• An elephant's brain weighs up to 5 kg, the largest of all animals.

Elephant Swimming
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