Asian Elephant Facts
SPECIES:
| ASIAN ELEPHANT (ELEPHAS MAXIMUS) |
STATUS:
| ENDANGERED |
DISTRIBUTION:
| Originally found in the Middle East, India, southern China, South-east Asia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Sri Lanka. |
HABITAT:
| Tropical forest, open woodland and grassland. |
FOOD:
| Grass, leaves, roots, stems, fruit and other crops. |
SIZE:
| 5.5 - 6.4m (18 - 21ft); 2,720 - 6,700kg (6,000 - 14,750lb) |
MATURITY:
| 9 years |
BREEDING:
| 1 calf born every 2 - 8 years |
LIFE SPAN:
| 80 years |
THREATS:
| Humans are capturing elephants for domestication at an unsustainable rate. Poaching for their ivory tusks and habitat destruction are additional threats.
The Asian elephant is one of the largest land mammals on Earth. The trunk of the Asian elephant has two finger-like structures at its tip that allow the animal to perform both delicate and powerful movements. Elephants have long, coarse hairs sparsely covering their body. Their skin is brown to dark gray. They have been very important to Asian culture for thousands of years - they have been domesticated and are used for transportation and to move heavy objects. |
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Elephant by Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya
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Tusk
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India World Water Day
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