The Plight of the Asian Elephants

Elephants and man have lived and worked alongside each other for centuries but this relationship is now in a state of flux. In particular, the Asian Elephant is now considered to be an endangered species. The impact is visible in Laos, once known as the 'Land of a Million Elephants', is now home to little over a thousand Elephants. According to the organization Elephant Family 'in another 30 years they could just vanish all together'.

How and why did this happen? There are a number of reasons:-

Loss of habitat is one reason. As civilization and industries expand, the Elephants natural jungle and forest homes have been shrinking at a rapid rate. In the fight for the land there have been injuries on both sides. The end result is that the Elephant herds, in some areas, have their pathway to food and water sources cut off. In some cases Elephants can be cut off from their herds. Neither result is a positive one for the Elephants.

Lack of breeding is another. As Elephants are worked to near exhaustion there is little time or inclination for them to breed and this is obviously directly impacting the number of Elephants. In addition the gestation and rearing of the baby calf can take between four to five years, having a 'worker' out of action for this length of time is not affordable to most farmers. With little breeding the number of Elephants will continue to dwindle and extinction would seem to be a likely outcome if not addressed.

We know the problem but what is being done to address this issue?

In Laos, an organization called the 'Elephant Conservation Center' has been established to address the breeding issue. At the Elephant Conservation Center pregnant Elephants return home to an idyllic jungle setting where they can be cared for. The gestation period for an Elephant is 22 months, so to encourage the farmers to rest their Elephants, the farmer is lent a hand tractor to do the work of the Elephant.

Following the birth the mother cares for the calf for up to three years. Both mother and calf are able to stay at the Conservation Center for another two years to assist to maintain the good health of both the mother and calf. The Elephants handler, or mahout, lives at the Elephant Conservation Center with the Elephants and are paid a salary for up to four years.

The Center is not only offering a breeding program for the Lao Elephant but it is also encouraging the farmers to rest their elephants, which also helps with breeding. This is a great step forward in resolving the plight of the Asian Elephant.

I love Elephants, do you?

For the past few year Gai has traveled the world photographing and writing about her experience. There has been a lot of fun along the way and a few mishaps also, but it is always fun. Read more about Laos where Gai visited the Elephant Conservation Center in 201109, there photo gallery is also that you may enjoy here.

Rainforest Animals - Asian Elephant

Asian Elephant

Scientific Name:

Elephas maximus

Status:

Endangered

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Proboscidea

Family: Elephantidae

Genus: Elephas

Species: E. maximus

General Information:

The Asian elephant is one of three recognized extant species of the family elephantidae; the other two are the African forest elephant and the African bush elephant. It is also the largest terrestrial mammal in Asia. This hullking animal once patrolled vast stretches of Asia in abundance, but today is an endangered species confined to a few select regions of South and Southeast Asia. It is estimated that there are only between 25,600 and 32,750 individuals remaining in the wild. The Asian elephant has also become prominent as a domestic creature, assisting in industry as a beast of burden and also fulfilling tourist and traditional roles. In military history, the Asian elephant has been a presence upon a many battlefields, used for combat from the days of Ancient India through the era of Alexander the Great and into the days of the Moguls.

Physical Description:

Asian elephants are generally smaller than their African bush counterparts. Asian elephants differ from their African cousins with their smaller ears and different cranial structure. Also, while both male and female African elephants have long tusks, only the male Asian elephant has visible tusks; the female Asian elephant's tusks are so short they are pratically not visible. There are four currently recognized subspecies of Asian elephant: the Indian elephant (E. m. indicus), the Sri Lanka elephant (E. m. maximus), the Sumatran elephant (E. m. sumatrensis), and the newly classified Borneo elephant (E. m. borneensis). Of the four subspecies, the smallest is the Borneo elephant, also known as the Borneo pygmy elephant (which also bears the recognition of being the tamest of the four as well). The largest is the Sri Lankan elephant, closely followed by the Indian elephant. Although both races can reach heights of a bit over 11 feet, the Sri Lankan elephant has a heavier weight of up to 12,000 lbs.

Diet:

Elephants are voracious eaters, consuming about 10% of their body weight in food each day. It also requires 80 - 200 liters of water daily as well. It feeds on a wide array of vegetation, preferring grasses but also eating leaves, roots, banks, and vines.

Habitat:

Elephants primarily occur in scrub forests, but are also found along forest edges where more open and grassy areas are available. They range from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh to Sri Lanka and throughout portions of Indochina. It is also found in parts of Indonesia.

Reproduction:

Females are capable of giving birth about every 4 - 6 years, and can birth about 7 calves per lifetime. Gestation lasts for approximately 19 - 22 months. Mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts all help in raising the young.

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