Asian Elephant

Facts about Asian Elephant

• IUCN Status Endangered
• Population in India : 26000 - 29000
• Diet : Grass, twigs, bark, shoots, woody plants, herbs and shrubs. 250-300 kg each day
• Lifespan : 60 years
• Elephant Reproductive age : 14 years
• Gestation period : 18-22 months
• Height: 9 ft
• Weight -  Calf: 100 kg at birth;  Adult female: 2500-4500 kg; Adult male: 3000-6000 kg
• Elephant habitat : Wide range, prefers grass-rich, dry and moist deciduous habitats
• Interesting facts
  • Extremely intelligent, can mimic and use tools
  • Needs upto 200 litres of uncontaminated and potable water every day
  • Shade is essential as it prevents dehydration
  • Only the male Asian Elephant has tusks. The exceptions are makhnas, who are tusk-less males
  • Uses trunk as tactical contact and for holding
  • Digestion efficiency is only 40%, feeds constantly to compensate
  • An elephant herd is led by the senior female, who is also called the 'Matriarch'
  • India has a history of captive elephants that dates back to 1000s of years
  • Has no sweat glands, tosses mud on itself and uses large ears as fans to keep cool
  • Migration : Matriarch remember migratory routes clearly. Fragmentation of habitats and obstruction of migratory routes lead to human-elephant conflicts. 
  • More than 100 elephants get killed every year in retaliation by people and several others by poaching
  • Not all elephants forage on crops. Alternate cropping and temporary elephant-proof barriers (during crop ripening) can be installed to reduce incidents
  • Human deaths happen mostly due to surprise encounters or going too close to elephants. Early warnings and avoiding elephants can prevent such incidents
  • Deforestation, expansion of agriculture, human encroachment are causing human-elephant conflict 

Dos and Donts with elephants

If you encounter elephants in your area, the following are the Dos and Donts to follow.

Dos

• Slow down as soon as you see elephants. Maintain a safe distance as they may charge, if they feel threatened
• Make a loud noise using drums to drive them away if they are an immediate threat to life, property and crops
• Stop your vehicle at a distance from elephants if they are crossing a road and reverse your vehicle slowly to allow them to pass
• Be vigilant during dusk and dawn and drive slowly in areas where elephants might be present
• Use thorny bushes as fences and create trenches around farms to prevent elephants from entering farmlands
• Remove ripened fruits from trees that may attract elephants
• If elephants are present near your house and show threatening behaviour, slowly retreat inside the house and give them space to move away
• If you spot an elephant in a human use area, call the helpline numbers of the forest department

Donts

• Don't try to take a selfie or close-up photograph of an elephant or try to feed it
• Don't chase them as they may charge back at you
• Don't use high beam lights. Don't switch the engine off as you may have to reverse the vehicle and retreat if an animal charges at you
• Don't ignore warning signage that provides warnings about sensitive spots
• Don't leave your farm with standing crop unguarded
• Don't store groceries and rations outside house or in mud houses. Store grains etc. in pakka houses
• Don't open doors or come out of the house at night if elephants are present near the house
• Always keep a record of movement-information related to elephants provided by the forest department and avoid areas where elephants are present

Source : Indo-German Biodiversity Programme

Related resources

• Guidelines for Mitigating Human–Elephant Conflict