Asian elephant
| Asian Elephant | |
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| Species: | E. maximus
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| Elephas maximus | |
The Asian Elephant, sometimes known as the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is one of the two or three living species of elephant, and the only living spevies of the genus Elephas. It is smaller than its African relatives, and the easiest way to distinguish the two is the smaller ears of the Asian Elephant. Asian elephants tend to grow to around two to four meters (7-12 feet) in height and 3,000-5,000 kilograms (6,500-11,000 pounds) in weight.
Asian Elephants have other differences from their African relatives, including a more arched back than the African, one semi-prehensile "finger" at the tip of their trunk as opposed to two, 4 nails on each hind foot instead of three, and 19 pairs of ribs instead of 21. Also, unlike female African Elephants, female Asian Elephants lack tusks.
This animal is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in Southeast Asia for centuries. Wild elephants attract tourist money to the areas where they can most readily be seen, but damage crops and may enter villages to raid gardens. Historical sources point out they were sometimes used during the harvest season primarily for milling.
Asian Elephants are more closely related to mammoths then they are to African Elephants. So it probably would be better to place the Asian Elephant in the genus Mammuthus, or to place all mammoths in the genus Elephas.
Danger of elephants
An animal of this size is potentially dangerous. Care should be taken when walking or driving at night or in the late evening in areas where wild elephants roam. Particularly, potential meetings with unpredictable adult males, or females with nearby young, are best avoided. Among the most dangerous are the rogue elephants which have been separated from the rest of the wild herd which tends to be hyper aggressive. Also when an elephant chases it is often best to run zig zag as elephants can reach top speeds of upto 50 km/h in a straight line but find it difficult to make sudden turns.
In History and Religion
The elephant plays an important part in the culture of the subcontinent and beyond featuring prominently in Jataka tales and the Panchatantra. It is also quite venerated and the "blessings" of a temple elephant is sought by Hindus as Lord Ganesha's head is made up of an elephant. It has been used in majestic processions in Kerala where the pachyderms are adorned with festive outfits. They were used by almost all armies in India as war elephants, terrifying opponents unused to the massive beast..
In Western Literature
The Asian elephant figures prominently in The Jungle Book and other writings of Rudyard Kipling, a British writer born in India.
Subspecies
Elephas maximus is the only surviving species in the Elephas genus; Elephas recki, an even larger species, is extinct.
There are four subspecies of Asian elephant:
- Indian elephant (E. m. indicus)
- Sri Lankan elephant (E. m. maximus)
- Sumatran elephant (E. m. sumatrensis)
- Borneo elephant (E. m. borneensis)
The population in Vietnam and Laos is currently undergoing tests to determine if it is a fifth subspecies.
E. m. indicus survives in separate ranges in southern India, the Himalayan foothills, and northwest India; it is also found in southern China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Malaysian peninsula. Most males of this subspecies have tusks.
E. m. maximus is only found in Sri Lanka. It has a larger skull relative to body size, and commonly has a decolourised area of skin on the forehead and the front of the upper trunk. It is rare to find even males with tusks. Males can reach a height of 3.5 metres at the shoulder.
E. m. sumatrensis is only found in Sumatra. It is the second smallest subspecies, between 1.7 to 2.6 metres at the shoulder. It is sometimes called the pocket elephant because of its size.
E. m. borneensis is found in north Borneo (east Sabah and extreme north Kalimantan). It is smaller than all the other subspecies. It has larger ears, a longer tail, and straighter tusks. Genetic tests in 2003 found that its ancestors separated from the mainland population about 300,000 years ago.
The extinct Chinese population is sometimes separated as E. m. rubridens (Pink-tusked Elephant); it disappeared after the 14th century BC. The unnamed Syrian population, possibly a separate subspecies (E.m.asurus), disappeared around 100 BC. The lead animal of Hannibal's elephant unit, Sarus, probably was a Syrian elephant, as it was reported to be of greater size than the North African elephants usually employed by Carthage, its name means "The Syrian", and the more easily trainable Asian Elephant would seem naturally suited for such a role.
Trend of Extinction
It is estimated that by the early 2050s there will no longer be a viable population of Asian elephants. (See National Geographic February 2006).
References
- Ranjith Bandara and Clem Tisdell (2004), "The net benefit of saving the Asian elephant: a policy and contingent valuation study", Ecological Economics, 48(1) - in Sri Lanka, urban residents' willingness to pay to save the elephant exceeds crop damage by elephants.
See also
- Bagheera An educational website of Earth's Endangered Animals.
- Elephants of Kerala
- Elephants used for festivals