The Asian Elephant: Sacred But Exploited

If you have seen the Asian elephant, most probably you saw it in a movie or documentary. And if you were like me, you possibly imagined yourself riding it. Am i right? :)

The Sri Lankan Elephant

I think my first encounter with this beautiful animal was in the movie, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Ring any bells? Well..having done a bit of research, i found that the elephant was Tai and plays 'Rosie' in her first major film appearance in Water for Elephants. She is now 46 years old. Now that you are familiar with this famous elephant, let me introduce you to her kind.

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are the largest animals in Asia and as i pointed out yesterday, are slightly smaller than their African cousins. These animals once widespread all over Asia are now found in South East Asia. They are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with less than 50,000 remaining. Many of these elephants are domesticated and have been for thousands of years. Those in the wild however, face the likelihood of extinction as a result of poaching and habitat destruction.

The Sumatran Elephant

The Asian elephant is a highly sacred animal and is the pinnacle of the Asian culture. It has been worshipped for centuries and is still today used for ceremonial and religious purposes. It has smaller ears than its African brother with a curved back and a single 'finger' on the upper lip of its trunk. It's dark greyish brown in colour with patches of pink on its forehead, ears, base of trunk and chest. These elephants live in tropical, semi-deciduous and evergreen forests and feed on grass, trees and woody plants. They however favour bananas, rice and sugarcane and always need to be near a source of water. Male elephants weigh up to 5 tonnes and stand at 11 feet while the females weigh up to 3 tonnes and stand at 8 feet. Their only primary predator is the tiger which hunts the calves rather than the adults. Other than humans hunting them down for ivory, they usually live up to 60 years. In captivity, they have been known to live up to 80 years!

The Indian Elephant

The Asian elephant has three sub-species. These are the Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus), the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus). The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest and darkest of the three with distinct patches of depigmentation on its skin. It is listed as Endangered with a population of up to 4000. The Sumatran elephant is the smallest of the three with a lighter shade. It is listed as Critically Endangered with a population of less than 3000. The Indian elephant is the most populous and known species. It is highly valuable in the Indian culture and is listed as Endangered with a population of about 25000.

The Borneo Pygmy Elephant

Another species called the Borneo Pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) lives in Borneo with a population of about 1500. Studies are still being done to determine it as a sub species. These are the smallest and well, cutest of the elephants, at a height of less than 2.5 metres (8 feet). Apart from their 'baby faces', they have oversized ears, plump bellies and a tail they sometimes drag around! They are also more gentle-natured than the rest of their brothers.

Well, there's much more to say about these magnificent creatures but i have stop there. As you can see, they are highly valuable to their respective regions yet highly exploited. The irony, right?
There's much we can do for these animals to ensure they live to see another day. We just have to know what. I think am doing something, are you? :)