Asian Elephant

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the largest land animal in Asia, with three recognized subspecies: the Indian elephant (E. m. indicus), the Sri Lankan elephant (E. m. maximus), and the Sumatran elephant (E. m. sumatranus). Smaller than its African relatives and distinguished by its rounded back, smaller ears, and a single finger-like projection at the tip of its trunk, it inhabits a range of environments including tropical and subtropical forests, grasslands, and scrublands across South and Southeast Asia. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Endangered, with a population estimated at fewer than 50,000 individuals remaining in the wild.

Asian elephants are keystone species in their habitats, dispersing seeds across large distances, creating water holes used by other animals, and clearing vegetation in ways that maintain forest structure. Their range has contracted by at least 95 percent from its historical extent, according to the IUCN, and the animals that remain are increasingly confined to fragmented patches of habitat. The primary threats they face are habitat loss driven by agricultural expansion and human settlement, human-elephant conflict as elephants and people compete for the same land, and poaching, which targets males for ivory in regions where tusked males occur.