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Asian Elephant Information

The Asian or Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.[1] Asian elephants are the largest living land animals in Asia.[3]

Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.[2] In 2003, the wild population was estimated at between 41,410 and 52,345 individuals.[4]

Asian elephants are rather long-lived, with a maximum recorded life span of 86 years.

This animal is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in South and Southeast Asia for centuries and also for ceremonial purposes. Historical sources indicate that they were used during harvest seasons primarily for milling. 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.

Contents

Characteristics

Illustration of an elephant skeleton[5] The Borneo elephant is smaller than other Asian elephant subspecies, and has relatively large ears, a longer tail, and straighter tusks.

In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. Their back is convex or level. Their ears are small with dorsal borders folded laterally. They have up to 20 pairs of ribs and 34 caudal vertebrae. Their feet have more nail-like structures than the ones of African elephants — five on each forefoot, and four on each hind foot.[3]

Size

Large bulls weigh up to 5,400 kg (12,000 lb) and are 3.2 m (10 ft) high at the shoulder. Females weigh up to 4,160 kg (9,200 lb) and reach 2.54 m (8.3 ft) at the shoulder. The skeleton constitutes about 15% of their body weight.[3]

The sizes of wild Asian elephants have been exaggerated in the past. Record elephants may have measured as high as 3.7 m (12 ft) at the shoulder. Shoulder height is estimated using the rule of thumb of twice the forefoot circumference.[5]

Richard Lydekker documents sizes observed in the 19th century:

The height of the adult male usually does not exceed nine feet [2.7 m], and that of the female eight feet [2.4 m]; but these dimensions are occasionally considerably exceeded. George P. Sanderson measured a male standing nine feet seven inches [2.9 m] at the shoulder, and measuring twenty-six feet two and one-half inches [8 m] from the tip of the trunk to the extremity of the tail; and he records others respectively reaching nine feet eight inches [2.9 m] and nine feet ten inches [3 m] at the shoulder. An elephant shot by General Kinloch stood upward of ten feet one inch [3.1 m]; and another measured by Sanderson ten feet seven and one-half inches [3.2 m]. These dimensions are, however, exceeded by a specimen killed by the late Sir Victor Brooke, which is reported to have reached a height of eleven feet [3.4 m]: and there is a rumor of a Ceylon elephant of twelve feet [3.7 m]. That such giants may occasionally exist is indicated by a skeleton in the Museum at Calcutta, which is believed to have belonged to an individual living between 1856 and 1860 in the neighborhood of the Rajamahal hills, in Bengal. As now mounted this enormous skeleton stands eleven feet three inches [3.4 m] at the shoulders, but Mr. O. S. Fraser, in a letter to the Asian newspaper, states that it is made to stand too low, and that its true height was several inches more. If this be so, there can be no doubt that, when alive, this elephant must have stood fully twelve feet.[5]

The heaviest bull recorded was shot by the Maharajah of Susang in the Garo Hills of Assam, India in 1924, and was 8 tonnes (8.8 short tons), 3.35 m (11.0 ft) tall and 8.06 m (26.4 ft) long.[6]

Trunk

Their trunk is a multi-purpose prehensile organ and highly sensitive, innervated by the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve and by the facial nerve. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Elephants use their trunks for feeding, watering, dusting, smelling, touching, breathing, sound production and communication, washing, pinching, grasping, defense and offense.[3] The trunk is an amazing organ of extreme dexterity: it is the single most important feature of an elephant, and gives the Order Proboscidea its name. The trunk is very strong , which is its ideal tool for eating. It is a fusion between the nose and upper lip, and consists of some 100,000 muscle units, which allow elephants to move their trunk with a wide range of movement.

The trunk can hold 8.5 litres. If they get in fights with wild monkeys they use their trunks to toss them or hit them against rocks or trees.

Tusks

Tusks serve to dig for water, salt, and rocks, to debark trees, as leers for maneuvering fallen trees and branches, for work, for display, for marking trees, as weapon for offense and defense, as trunk-rests, as protection for the trunk. They are known to be right or left tusked.[3]

Female Asian elephants usually lacks tusks; if tusks — in that case called "tushes" — are present, they are barely visible, and only seen when they open the mouth. The enamel plates of the molars are greater in number and closer together in Asian elephants. Some males may also lack tusks; these individuals are called "filsy makhnas", and are especially common among the Sri Lankan elephant population. Furthermore, the forehead has two hemispherical bulges, unlike the flat front of the African elephant. Unlike African elephants which rarely use their forefeet for anything other than digging or scraping soil, Asian elephants are more agile at using their feet in conjunction with the trunk for manipulating objects. They can sometimes be known for their violent behavior.[7]

A record tusk described by George P. Sanderson measured 5 ft (1.5 m) along the curve, with a birth of 16 in (41 cm) at the point of emergence from the jaw, the weight being 104+1⁄2 lb (47 kg). This was from an elephant killed by Sir V. Brooke and measured 8 ft (2.4 m) in length, and nearly 17 in (43 cm) in circumference, and weighed 90 lb (41 kg). The tusk's weight was, however, exceeded by the weight of a shorter tusk of about 6 ft (1.8 m) in length which weighed 100 lb (45 kg).[5]

Skin

An Asian Elephant fans itself with dust at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan.

Skin color is usually gray, and may be masked by dirt because of dusting and wallowing. Their wrinkled skin is movable and contains many nerve centers. It is smoother than of African elephants, and may be depigmented on the trunk, ears, or neck. The epidermis and dermis of the body average 18 mm (0.71 in) thick; skin on the dorsum is 30 mm (1.2 in) thick providing protection against bites, bumps, and adverse weather. Its folds increase surface area for heat dissipation. They can tolerate cold better than excessive heat. Skin temperature varies from 24 to 32.9 °C (75 to 91 °F). Body temperature averages 35.9 °C (96.6 °F).[3]

Intelligence

Asian elephants are highly intelligent and self-aware.[8] They have a very large and highly convoluted neocortex, a trait also shared by humans, apes and certain dolphin species. Asian elephants have the greatest volume of cerebral cortex available for cognitive processing of all existing land animals. Elephants have a volume of cerebral cortex available for cognitive processing that exceeds that of any primate species, and extensive studies place elephants in the category of great apes in terms of cognitive abilities for tool use and tool making.[9]

See also: Elephant intelligence

Distribution and habitat

Asian elephants inhabit grasslands, tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, dry deciduous forested and dry thorn forest, in addition to cultivated and secondary forests and scrublands. Over this range of habitat types elephants are seen from sea level to over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). In the Eastern Himalaya in northeast India, they regularly move up above 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in summer at a few sites.[10]

Three subspecies are recognized:[3][2]

In China, Asian elephants survive only in the prefectures of Xishuangbanna, Simao, and Lincang of southern Yunnan. In Bangladesh only isolated populations survive in the Chittagong Hills.[11]

Behavior

A herd of wild Indian elephants in the Jim Corbett National Park, India

In the wild, elephant herds follow well-defined seasonal migration routes. These are made around the monsoon seasons, often between the wet and dry zones, and it is the task of the eldest elephant to remember and follow the traditional migration routes.[citation needed] When human farms are founded along these old routes there is often considerable damage done to crops, and it is common for elephants to be killed in the ensuing conflicts. The adult Asian Elephant has no natural predators, but young elephants may fall prey to tigers.

Elephants' life spans have been exaggerated in the past; they live on average for 60 years in the wild and 80 in captivity.[3] They eat 10% of their body weight each day, which for adults is between 170 and 200 kilograms of food per day. They need 80–200 litres of water a day and use even more for bathing. At times they scrape the soil for minerals and occasionally will eat their own faeces if hungry.

Elephants use infrasound to communicate; this was first noted by the Indian naturalist M. Krishnan and later studied by Katharine Payne.[12]

Male behavior

Bull elephants may form small groups known as 'bachelor herds', but bulls may also roam independently at various times.

Bulls will fight one another to get access to estrous females. Males reach sexual maturity around age 12–15 (younger in captivity). Between the age of 10 to 20 years, bulls undergo an annual phenomenon known as "musth". This is a period where the testosterone level is high (up to 100 times greater than non-musth periods) and they become extremely aggressive. Secretions containing pheromones occur during this period, from the paired temporal glands located on the head between the lateral edge of the eye and the base of the ear.[13]

Female behavior

Baby elephant Gabi and his mother Tamar at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, 2008

Female elephants live in small groups. They have a matriarchal society, and the group is led by the oldest female. The herd consists of relatives. An individual reaches sexual maturity at 9–15 years of age. The gestation period is 18–22 months, and the female gives birth to one calf, or occasionally twins. The calf is fully developed by the 19th month but stays in the womb to grow so that it can reach its mother to feed. At birth, the calf weighs about 100 kg (220 lb), and is suckled for up to 2–3 years. Once a female gives birth, she usually does not breed again until the first calf is weaned, resulting in a 4–5-year birth interval. Females stay on with the herd, but mature males are chased away.

Females produce sex pheromones; a principal component thereof, (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate, has also been found to be a sex pheromone in numerous species of insects.[14][15]

Interaction with humans

Mahouts washing an elephant, Thrissur, Kerala.

At most seasons of the year Asian elephants are a timid and much more ready to flee from a foe than to make an attack. Solitary rogues are however frequently an exception to this rule, and sometimes make unprovoked attacks on passers-by. Rogue elephants sometimes take up a position near a road making it impassable to travellers. Females with calves are at all times dangerous to approach. Contrary to what is stated to be the case with the African species, when an Asian elephant makes a charge, it tightly curles up its trunk and attacks by trampling its victim with feet or knees, or, if a male, by pinning it to the ground with its tusks. During musth bulls are highly dangerous, not only to human beings but also to its fellow animals. At the first indications, domestic elephants are secured tightly to prevent any mishaps;[5] xylazine is also used.

While elephant charges are often displays of aggression that do not go beyond threats some elephants, such as rogues, may actually attack.

In regard to movement on land, Mr. Sanderson says that "the only pace of the elephant is the walk, capable of being increased to a fast shuffle of about fifteen miles (24 km) an hour for very short distances. It can neither trot, canter, nor gallop. It does not move with the legs on the same side together, but nearly so. A very good runner might keep out of an elephant's way on a smooth piece of turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with, any attempt to escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be unavailing." When an elephant does charge, it requires all the coolness and presence of mind of the sportsman to avoid a catastrophe- "A grander animated object," writes Mr. Sanderson, "than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly be imagined. The cocked ears and broad forehead present an immense frontage; the head is held high, with the trunk curled between the tusks, to be uncoiled in the moment of attack; the massive fore-legs come down with the force and regularity of ponderous machinery; and the whole figure is rapidly foreshortened, and appears to double in size with each advancing stride. The trunk being curled and unable to emit any sound, the attack is made in silence, after the usual premonitory shriek, which adds to its impressiveness. The usual pictorial representations of the Indian elephant charging with upraised trunk are accordingly quite incorrect."[5]

Captivity

Used for tourism throughout Asia At this elephant training camp, captive elephants are taught to handle logs. The elephant namely Soman at the elephant training centre, Konni, Pathanamthitta Elephants in Kerala are trained not to move when Valiya kol (long pole) is kept on them. Sri Lankan Elephants at Esala Perahera

Elephants have been captured from the wild and tamed for use by humans. Their ability to work under instruction makes them particularly useful for carrying heavy objects. They have been used particularly for timber-carrying in jungle areas. Other than their work use, they have been used in war, in ceremonies, and for carriage. They have been used for their ability to travel over difficult terrain by hunters, for whom they served as mobile hunting platforms. The same purpose is met in safaris in modern times.

The first historical record of domestication of Asian elephants was in Harappan times. Ultimately the elephant went on to become a siege engine, a mount in war, a status symbol, a work animal, and an elevated platform for hunting during historical times in South Asia.[16]

The elephant plays an important part in the culture of the subcontinent and beyond, featuring prominently in Jataka tales and the Panchatantra. It plays a major role in Hinduism: the god Ganesha's head is that of an elephant, and the "blessings" of a temple elephant are highly valued. Elephants have been used in processions in Kerala where the animals are adorned with festive outfits. They were also used by almost all armies in India as war elephants, terrifying opponents unused to the massive beast.

Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus first described the genus Elephas and an elephant from Ceylon under the binomial Elephas maximus in 1758.[17] In 1798, Georges Cuvier first described the Indian elephant under the binomial Elephas indicus.[18] In 1847, Coenraad Jacob Temminck first described the Sumatran elephant under the binomial Elephas sumatranus.[19] Frederick Nutter Chasen classified all three as subspecies of the Asian elephant in 1940.[20]

In 1950, Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala described the Borneo elephant under the trinomial Elephas maximus borneensis, taking as his type an illustration in the National Geographical Magazine, but not a living elephant in accordance with the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.[21] E. m. borneensis lives in northern Borneo and is smaller than all the other subspecies, but with larger ears, a longer tail, and straight tusks. Results of genetic analysis indicate that its ancestors separated from the mainland population about 300,000 years ago.[22]

The population in Vietnam and Laos is tested to determine if it is a subspecies as well. This research is considered vital as there are less than 1300 wild Asian elephants remaining in Laos.[23]

In addition, two extinct subspecies are considered to have existed:

Predators

An adult full grown healthy male Asian elephant has hardly any natural predators, but there have been rare instances of tigers preying on young or weak elephants.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Shoshani, Jeheskel (16 November 2005). "Order Proboscidea (pp. 90-91)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 90. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=11500004.
  2. ^ a b c Choudhury, A., Lahiri Choudhury, D.K., Desai, A., Duckworth, J.W., Easa, P.S., Johnsingh, A.J.T., Fernando, P., Hedges, S., Gunawardena, M., Kurt, F., Karanth, U., Lister, A., Menon, V., Riddle, H., Rübel, A., Wikramanayake, E. (2008). "Elephas maximus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/7140.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Shoshani, J, Eisenberg, J. F. (1982). "Elephas maximus". Mammalian Species 182: 1–8. doi:10.2307/3504045. http://jstor.org/stable/3504045.
  4. ^ Sukumar, R. (2003). The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lydekker, R. (1894). The Royal Natural History. Volume 2. Frederick Warne and Co., London. http://www.archive.org/stream/royalnaturalhist02lydeuoft#page/542/mode/2up.
  6. ^ Wood, G.L. (1982) The Guinness book of animal facts and feats. Guinness Superlatives, 1982 ISBN 0851122353
  7. ^ Clutton-Brock, J. (1987). A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals. London: British Museum (Natural History). pp. 208. ISBN 0521346975.
  8. ^ Aldous, P. (2006-10-30). "Elephants see themselves in the mirror". New Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10402-elephants-see-themselves-in-the-mirror.html.
  9. ^ Hart, B.L., Hart, L.A., McCoy, M., Sarath, C.R. (November 2001). "Cognitive behaviour in Asian elephants: use and modification of branches for fly switching". Animal Behaviour (Academic Press) 62 (5): 839–847. doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1815. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/ar/2001/00000062/00000005/art01815.
  10. ^ Choudhury, A. U. (1999) Status and Conservation of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus in north-eastern India. Mammal Review 29: 141–173.
  11. ^ Sukumar, R. (1993) The Asian Elephant: Ecology and Management Second edition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052143758X
  12. ^ Payne, Katherine (1998). Silent Thunder. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80108-6.
  13. ^ Jainudeen, M. R., McKay, G. M.,Eisenberg, J. F. 1972 Observation on musth in the domesticated Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) Mammalia 36(2): 247–261. DOI: 10.1515/mamm.1972.36.2.247
  14. ^ Rasmussen, L. E. L., Lee, T. D., Zhang, A. J., Roelofs, W. L. & Daves, G. D. (1997). Purification, identification, concentration and bioactivity of (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate: sex pheromone of the female Asian elephant, Elephas maximus. Chemical Senses, 22, 417–437.
  15. ^ Rasmussen, L. E. L., Lee, T. D., Roelofs, W. L., Zhang, A. J. & Daves, G. D. (1996). Insect pheromone in elephants. Nature, 379, 684.
  16. ^ Rangarajan, M. (2001) The Forest and the Field in Ancient India. In: India's Wildlife History. Permanent Black, Delhi
  17. ^ Linnaei, C. (1760) Elephas maximus In: Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Halae Magdeburgicae. Page 33
  18. ^ Cuvier, G. (1798) Tableau elementaire de l’histoire naturelle des animaux. Baudouin, Paris
  19. ^ Temminck, C. J. (1847) Coup-d'oeil général sur les possessions néerlandaises dans l'Inde archipélagique. Tome second. A. Arnz and Comp., Leide
  20. ^ Chasen, F.H. (1940) A handlist of Malaysian mammals. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 15: iii–209
  21. ^ Cranbrook, E., Payne, J., Leh, C.M.U. (2008) Origin of the elephants Elephas maximus L. of Borneo. Sarawak Museum Journal.
  22. ^ Fernando P, Vidya TNC, Payne J, Stuewe M, Davison G, et al. (2003) DNA Analysis Indicates That Asian Elephants Are Native to Borneo and Are Therefore a High Priority for Conservation. PLoS Biol 1(1): e6
  23. ^ Elefantasia 2008, Assist Us, 1 January 2008

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· · Extant Proboscidea species by family
Kingdom Animalia · Phylum Chordata · Class Mammalia · Infraclass Eutheria · Superorder Afrotheria
Elephantidae (Elephants)
Elephas Asian Elephant (E. maximus)
Loxodonta (African elephants) African Bush Elephant (L. africana) · African Forest Elephant (L. cyclotis)
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Categories: IUCN Red List endangered species | Elephants | EDGE Species | Fauna of Southeast Asia | Fauna of South Asia | Mammals of Asia | Mammals of Bangladesh | Mammals of India | Megafauna of Eurasia | National symbols of Laos | National symbols of Thailand | Animals described in 1758 | Mammals of Malaysia

 

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