The Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild population has declined by at least 50% since the 1930s to 1940s, i.e. three elephant generations.
In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level. Females are usually smaller than males and have short or no tusks. Indian elephants have smaller ears, but relatively broader skulls and larger trunks than African elephants. Toes are large and broad. Unlike their African cousins, their abdomen is proportionate with their body weight.
The range of these animals covers a huge territory in mainland Asia. The species occurs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia and Cambodia, China, Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sumatra), Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam in Southeast Asia. Indian elephants are extinct in Pakistan. They occur in a variety of habitats such as grassland, dry deciduous forest, moist deciduous forest as well as evergreen and semi-evergreen forest.
Indian elephants are both diurnal and nocturnal. They are highly social animals, gathering into matriarchal units: these are stable groups, which may consist of more than 20 related females. The leader of the group is the oldest female. She guides the herd in their search for food and water sources. These matriarchal units can occasionally divide into smaller, temporary groups. These small herds communicate with each other through low-frequency vocalizations, heard from afar. Some males are known to join these groups. These elephants are non-territorial animals. The Indian elephants used to migrate seasonally. However, they presently cannot do it due to agricultural development and other human activities. Along with many other large mammals, these animals handle cold better than heat. During the hottest part of the day, elephants usually shelter, releasing heat through their ear by flapping them at different speeds, depending on the extent of heat.
As megaherbivorous animals, Indian elephants primarily feed upon grasses, supplementing their diet with bark, roots, leaves, stems of trees, vines, and shrubs as well as bananas, rice, sugarcane, and other cultivated crops.
The Indian elephants have a polygynous mating system. These animals breed year-round. Before mating, males usually engage in aggressive fights, which occasionally result in serious injuries or even death. The winner joins an all-female group, driving away other males. A breeding pair remains together for about 3 weeks. The gestation period lasts for 22 months, yielding a single baby. During the birth, females of the herd surround the mother in order to protect her. The newborn baby starts feeding upon maternal milk and is able to stand within 2 hours after birth. Weaning occurs within 2 - 4 years, and female elephants are ready to mate at 10 years old.
Currently, Indian elephants greatly suffer from habitat loss and fragmentation due to illegal encroachment into protected areas as well as forest clearing for road development. Furthermore, loss of habitat reduces the amount of suitable food and leaves the elephants without shelter, leading to fragmentation of their range. Hence, isolated populations are formed on scattered remains of their former range. As a result, these animals can neither migrate nor mix with other herds of conspecifics. Thus, Indian elephants look for new sources of food, taking destructive raids to farms, settlements and plantations, located within their original range. These confrontations with humans cause high number of mortality, sharply decreasing the population of these animals in the wild. On the other hand, males of this species attract poachers for their ivory tusks, which are presently in high demand among Asian middle class, regardless the global ban on ivory trade.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population of Indian elephant is approximately 26,390-30,770 individuals. Overall, the Asian elephant species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List.
Indian elephants play an important role in their ecosystem helping with seed dispersal and creating a habitat for smaller animals by tearing down trees.
