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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Endangered |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
| Gestation Period: | |
Habitat:
The Asian Elephant is one of the last few mega-herbivores (i.e. plant-eating mammals that reach an adult body weight in excess of 1,000 kg) still extant on earth (Owen-Smith, 1988). Being hindgut fermenters with relatively poor digestive efficiency (Dumonceaux 2006), elephants must consume large quantities of food per day to meet energy requirements. They are generalists and feed on a variety of plants, which vary depending upon the habitat and season. Sukumar (1992) observed that in southern India, the portion of the diet consisting of browse shifted from around 70% in the dry season, to 45% in the wet season. However, in an adjoining area, Baskaran et al. (2010) found that browse formed only 15% of the diet in dry deciduous forest and 47% of the diet in the thorn forest in the dry season, while the annual diet was dominated by grass (84%). Baskaran (2002) also recorded that elephants fed on 82 species of plants (59 woody plant species and 23 grass species). In Sri Lanka, elephants may feed on more than 60 species of plants belonging to 30 families (McKay 1973). On the other hand, elephants appear to preferentially feed on monocots (Campos-Arceiz and Blake 2011), with Bornean elephants especially favoring species of Poaceae (English et al. 2014). Elephants may spend up to 14–19 hrs a day feeding, during which they may consume up to 150 kg of wet weight (Vancuylenberg 1977).
Asian Elephants inhabit grassland, tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, dry deciduous forested and dry thorn forest, in addition to cultivated and secondary forests or scrublands. They are seen from sea level to over 3,000 m asl in the Eastern Himalaya (Choudhury 1999). However, it is unclear which, if any, of these habitat types represent optimal suitable habitat for elephant as many landscapes have been subject to human modification. Elephant densities can range from > 3/km2 in parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Borneo, to fewer than <1/km2 in much of mainland Southeast Asia (Alfred et al. 2010; de Silva, Ranjeewa and Weerakoon 2011; Fernando and Pastorini 2011; Jathanna et al. 2015). Recorded densities appear lower in heavily forested environments compared to those that are more grass-dominated, but it is difficult to distinguish whether this is due to resource limitations or more recent declines from hunting pressure and overall habitat loss. Elephants can range over large areas and as a consequence, elephants disperse seeds over longer distances than most other herbivores and thus are responsible for structuring and maintaining plant diversity within ecosystems (Campos-Arceiz et al. 2008 Campos-Arceiz and Blake 2011). Home range sizes likely depend not only on availability of forage, but also of water, needed for drinking, bathing and wallowing. More recently home ranges are being influenced by the level of disturbance and other development activities (e.g. roads, fences, canals etc.) the elephants are encountering. Asian Elephants especially rely on the evaporation of water from the skin for cooling (Dunkin et al. 2013).
Given their large area requirements, elephants are regarded as “umbrella species” because their conservation will also protect a large number of other species occupying the same area. They may also be considered “flagship species” because of their iconic or cultural value and “keystone species” because of their important ecological role and impact on the environment.
The lifespan of Asian Elephants is 60 to 70 years, and males reach sexual maturity at between 10–15 years of age; while females are capable of giving birth as early as 11, most do so in the wild between the ages of 13–16 (Shoshani and Eisenberg 1982, de Silva et al. 2013). Because of the lengthy gestation and parturition periods elephants have a minimum inter-birth-interval of approximately four-five years (Sukumar 2003), but in areas where there is a high density, intervals may extend to six years or more (Sukumar 1992, Williams 2007, de Silva et al. 2013). Calf survival can be influenced by social buffering, particularly from grandmothers (Lahdenpera et al. 2016), which makes Asian elephants one of the unique social species. Older females tend to have longer birth intervals, thus aging populations may experience negative feedback on population growth. Therefore, even though individual animals may be long-lived, populations are vulnerable to gradual demographic collapse if mortality rates in younger age classes become too high (de Silva and Leimgruber 2019).
Asian Elephant society is organised into well-defined, matrilineal communities or clans comprising adult females, as well as sub-adult and juvenile males and females (de Silva et al. 2011b, Nandini et al. 2018). All the members of the clan do not necessarily associate for extended periods as it is a society with high fission-fusion dynamics, with groups of elephants seen usually being a part of a larger community/clan (de Silva et al. 2011b, Nandini et al. 2018). Subadult males disperse from their natal clans, and adult males (bulls) are primarily solitary but form loose social bonds with other males and only temporarily associate with female groups (Desai and Johnsingh 1995, Vidya and Sukumar 2005). Females or subsets of them within a clan are genetically related to one another (Vidya and Sukumar 2005, Nandini 2016).
Asian Elephants move over long distances in search of food and shelter. Both females and males have well-defined home ranges and show fidelity to their established home ranges (Baskaran et al. 1995, Fernando et al. 2008, Baskaran et al. 2018). Home range sizes in India have been estimated to be between 550 and 700 km² for female clans in tropical deciduous forests of south India (Baskaran et al. 1995) and between 188 and 407 km² for different males and female clans in north India (Williams et al. 2008). In Sri Lanka home range sizes have been estimated to be between 34 and 400 km² in a study of males and female groups by Fernando et al. (2008) and in another study of two female groups, it was estimated to be 217 and 326 km² (Marasinghe et al. 2015). In Sumatra, a study by Moßbrucker et al. (2016) showed that home range sizes of males and female groups ranged between 210 and 997 km for elephants in Jambi Province. In Borneo, a study by Raymond et al.²(2012) showed that home ranges of males and female groups ranged from 291 to 778 km² for three elephants which had reasonable monitoring periods (>200 days). Evans et al. (2020) however indicated a mean home range of 149.27 (±108.70) km². The linear extent of home ranges can vary from 10 to 150 km or more depending on the size of the home range. This would indicate that transboundary populations can range deep into the different Range States. Overlapping and large home ranges would essentially straddle vast areas across national boundaries. Movement within home ranges has been shown to be influenced by seasonal changes in resources (Fernando 2015, Baskaran et al. 2018) or behavioural changes due to disturbance (Williams et al. 2008). Those seasonal movements, that are influenced by availability of food, water and climate, are both cyclic and predictable. However, in Rajaji NP in north India, Williams et al. (2008) showed that females with very young calves traded safety for food by choosing habitats with less food, but also less disturbance. Elephants also preferred gentle terrain over steeper slopes when given a choice as shown by Raymond et al. (2012). This indicates that elephants found in very hilly terrain maybe a by product of more productive plains habitat being converted to agriculture. A recent study from the resource-rich, well-protected ecosystem of Kaziranga NP in NE India, suggests that female-led herds move about their activity centres considerably more than adult males (Goswami et al. 2019). In such productive habitats, spatio-temporal segregation of herds is likely to be favored as it can ease intra-specific competition and allow an ‘ecological release’ from strict matriarchal hierarchies, resulting in fission-fusion social dynamics (de Silva et al. 2011b, de Silva et al. 2016). Larger gatherings of elephants tend to occur in South Asia during dry seasons, particularly near large water bodies (de Silva et al. 2011b, Nandini et al. 2018). This is possibly a more recent phenomenon owing to land-use changes and resource constraints. It is also concurrently possible that movement patterns of adult males are more localized in a given season, but they show larger shifts in activity centres than herds with change in season and associated resource availability (Goswami et al. 2019). Musth in males appears to be a roving strategy among older males (Keerthipriya et al. 2020), which show much larger home ranges in musth than when not in musth (Fernando et al. 2008).
A characteristic strategy of male Asian Elephants is the dispersal of males when they attain puberty (Sukumar 1989, Desai and Johnsingh 1995). Male Asian Elephants have been found to show locational dispersal to a location different from their natal home range, as opposed to social dispersal away from the natal clan but remaining in the same home range (Vidya and Sukumar 2005, Vidya et al. 2005, Ahlering et al. 2011). It is possible that such dispersal may help in avoiding inbreeding and is critical for gene flow between different locations.
Asian Elephants inhabit grassland, tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, dry deciduous forested and dry thorn forest, in addition to cultivated and secondary forests or scrublands. They are seen from sea level to over 3,000 m asl in the Eastern Himalaya (Choudhury 1999). However, it is unclear which, if any, of these habitat types represent optimal suitable habitat for elephant as many landscapes have been subject to human modification. Elephant densities can range from > 3/km2 in parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Borneo, to fewer than <1/km2 in much of mainland Southeast Asia (Alfred et al. 2010; de Silva, Ranjeewa and Weerakoon 2011; Fernando and Pastorini 2011; Jathanna et al. 2015). Recorded densities appear lower in heavily forested environments compared to those that are more grass-dominated, but it is difficult to distinguish whether this is due to resource limitations or more recent declines from hunting pressure and overall habitat loss. Elephants can range over large areas and as a consequence, elephants disperse seeds over longer distances than most other herbivores and thus are responsible for structuring and maintaining plant diversity within ecosystems (Campos-Arceiz et al. 2008 Campos-Arceiz and Blake 2011). Home range sizes likely depend not only on availability of forage, but also of water, needed for drinking, bathing and wallowing. More recently home ranges are being influenced by the level of disturbance and other development activities (e.g. roads, fences, canals etc.) the elephants are encountering. Asian Elephants especially rely on the evaporation of water from the skin for cooling (Dunkin et al. 2013).
Given their large area requirements, elephants are regarded as “umbrella species” because their conservation will also protect a large number of other species occupying the same area. They may also be considered “flagship species” because of their iconic or cultural value and “keystone species” because of their important ecological role and impact on the environment.
The lifespan of Asian Elephants is 60 to 70 years, and males reach sexual maturity at between 10–15 years of age; while females are capable of giving birth as early as 11, most do so in the wild between the ages of 13–16 (Shoshani and Eisenberg 1982, de Silva et al. 2013). Because of the lengthy gestation and parturition periods elephants have a minimum inter-birth-interval of approximately four-five years (Sukumar 2003), but in areas where there is a high density, intervals may extend to six years or more (Sukumar 1992, Williams 2007, de Silva et al. 2013). Calf survival can be influenced by social buffering, particularly from grandmothers (Lahdenpera et al. 2016), which makes Asian elephants one of the unique social species. Older females tend to have longer birth intervals, thus aging populations may experience negative feedback on population growth. Therefore, even though individual animals may be long-lived, populations are vulnerable to gradual demographic collapse if mortality rates in younger age classes become too high (de Silva and Leimgruber 2019).
Asian Elephant society is organised into well-defined, matrilineal communities or clans comprising adult females, as well as sub-adult and juvenile males and females (de Silva et al. 2011b, Nandini et al. 2018). All the members of the clan do not necessarily associate for extended periods as it is a society with high fission-fusion dynamics, with groups of elephants seen usually being a part of a larger community/clan (de Silva et al. 2011b, Nandini et al. 2018). Subadult males disperse from their natal clans, and adult males (bulls) are primarily solitary but form loose social bonds with other males and only temporarily associate with female groups (Desai and Johnsingh 1995, Vidya and Sukumar 2005). Females or subsets of them within a clan are genetically related to one another (Vidya and Sukumar 2005, Nandini 2016).
Asian Elephants move over long distances in search of food and shelter. Both females and males have well-defined home ranges and show fidelity to their established home ranges (Baskaran et al. 1995, Fernando et al. 2008, Baskaran et al. 2018). Home range sizes in India have been estimated to be between 550 and 700 km² for female clans in tropical deciduous forests of south India (Baskaran et al. 1995) and between 188 and 407 km² for different males and female clans in north India (Williams et al. 2008). In Sri Lanka home range sizes have been estimated to be between 34 and 400 km² in a study of males and female groups by Fernando et al. (2008) and in another study of two female groups, it was estimated to be 217 and 326 km² (Marasinghe et al. 2015). In Sumatra, a study by Moßbrucker et al. (2016) showed that home range sizes of males and female groups ranged between 210 and 997 km for elephants in Jambi Province. In Borneo, a study by Raymond et al.²(2012) showed that home ranges of males and female groups ranged from 291 to 778 km² for three elephants which had reasonable monitoring periods (>200 days). Evans et al. (2020) however indicated a mean home range of 149.27 (±108.70) km². The linear extent of home ranges can vary from 10 to 150 km or more depending on the size of the home range. This would indicate that transboundary populations can range deep into the different Range States. Overlapping and large home ranges would essentially straddle vast areas across national boundaries. Movement within home ranges has been shown to be influenced by seasonal changes in resources (Fernando 2015, Baskaran et al. 2018) or behavioural changes due to disturbance (Williams et al. 2008). Those seasonal movements, that are influenced by availability of food, water and climate, are both cyclic and predictable. However, in Rajaji NP in north India, Williams et al. (2008) showed that females with very young calves traded safety for food by choosing habitats with less food, but also less disturbance. Elephants also preferred gentle terrain over steeper slopes when given a choice as shown by Raymond et al. (2012). This indicates that elephants found in very hilly terrain maybe a by product of more productive plains habitat being converted to agriculture. A recent study from the resource-rich, well-protected ecosystem of Kaziranga NP in NE India, suggests that female-led herds move about their activity centres considerably more than adult males (Goswami et al. 2019). In such productive habitats, spatio-temporal segregation of herds is likely to be favored as it can ease intra-specific competition and allow an ‘ecological release’ from strict matriarchal hierarchies, resulting in fission-fusion social dynamics (de Silva et al. 2011b, de Silva et al. 2016). Larger gatherings of elephants tend to occur in South Asia during dry seasons, particularly near large water bodies (de Silva et al. 2011b, Nandini et al. 2018). This is possibly a more recent phenomenon owing to land-use changes and resource constraints. It is also concurrently possible that movement patterns of adult males are more localized in a given season, but they show larger shifts in activity centres than herds with change in season and associated resource availability (Goswami et al. 2019). Musth in males appears to be a roving strategy among older males (Keerthipriya et al. 2020), which show much larger home ranges in musth than when not in musth (Fernando et al. 2008).
A characteristic strategy of male Asian Elephants is the dispersal of males when they attain puberty (Sukumar 1989, Desai and Johnsingh 1995). Male Asian Elephants have been found to show locational dispersal to a location different from their natal home range, as opposed to social dispersal away from the natal clan but remaining in the same home range (Vidya and Sukumar 2005, Vidya et al. 2005, Ahlering et al. 2011). It is possible that such dispersal may help in avoiding inbreeding and is critical for gene flow between different locations.
Range:
Asian Elephants formerly ranged from West Asia along the Iranian coast into the Indian subcontinent, eastwards into South-east Asia including Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, and into China at least as far as the Yangtze-Kiang. This former range covered over 9 million km² (Sukumar 2003). Asian Elephants are now extinct in West Asia, Java, and most of China. The western populations (Elephas maximus asurus) were probably extinct by 100 BC, and the main Chinese populations (sometimes referred to as E. m. rubridens) disappeared sometime after the 14th century BC. Even within its surviving range in South and South-east Asia, the species has been in retreat for hundreds if not thousands of years, and generally survives only in highly fragmented populations (Olivier 1978, Sukumar 2003, Blake and Hedges 2004).
Asian Elephants still occur in isolated populations in 13 range states, with a very approximate total range area of 486,800 km² (Sukumar 2003, but see Blake and Hedges 2004; note that this range area is a different parameter than the extent of occurrence calculation used for Red List assessments). The species occurs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia and Cambodia, China, Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sumatra) Lao PDR, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah), Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam in South-east Asia. Feral populations occur on some of the Andaman Islands (India).
The elephants of Borneo were believed to be feral descendants of elephants introduced in the 14th–19th centuries (Shoshani and Eisenberg 1982, Cranbrook et al. 2008); however, recent genetic evidence suggests they are indigenous to the island (Fernando et al. 2003, Sharma et al. 2018).
The species was once found throughout Sri Lanka, but today elephants are restricted mostly to the lowlands in the dry zone where they are still fairly widespread in north, south, east, north-western, north-central and south-eastern Sri Lanka; with the exceptions of small remnant populations in the Peak Wilderness Area and Sinharaja Area, elephants are absent from the wet zone of the country. The species continues to lose range to development activities throughout the island.
Once widespread in India, the species is now restricted to four general areas: northeastern India, central India, northwestern India, and southern India. In northeastern India, the elephant range extends from the eastern border of Nepal in northern West Bengal through western Assam along the Himalaya foothills as far as the Mishmi Hills in Arunachal Pradesh. From here it extends into eastern Arunachal Pradesh, the plains of upper Assam, and the foothills of Nagaland. Moving westwards from there, the elephant range spans parts of the lower Brahmaputra plains and the Karbi Plateau to extend into the Garo Hills of Meghalaya through the Khasi Hills. Elsewhere in the south in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and the Barak valley districts of Assam, isolated herds have known to occur (Choudhury 1999). In central India, highly fragmented elephant populations are found in the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and the southern part of West Bengal. Elephants have now started migrating to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh from Chhattisgarh. In north-western India, the species occurs in six fragmented populations at the foot of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, ranging from Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Bahraich Forest Division in the east, to the Yamuna River in the west. The elephants in southern India range over forested hilly tracts of the Western Ghats and the adjacent Eastern Ghats in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and, more recently, in small areas of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa. Their distribution has shrunk within the Ghats owing to increase in human population and resultant development activities and agriculture. At present, elephants are found in five major landscapes in southern India: Uttara Kannada and crestline of the Western Ghats, mainly in the forests of Dandeli that includes a few elephants that move into Maharashtra and Goa; the Malnad plateau, in particular the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, to the east of the Western Ghats; the Brahmagiri–Nilgiri–Wyanad–Mysore landscape, with the Nagarahole, Bandipur, Wyanad and Mudumalai complex of reserves harbouring one of the highest elephant densities, followed by significant numbers in the Biligirirangans and the hilly tract along the Cauvery river of the Eastern Ghats, a small population of elephants that dispersed from here in the 1980s now ranges as scattered groups over isolated hills to the east in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; Anamalai–Nelliyampathy–High Ranges landscape with Anamalai, Parambikulam, Malayattur and Vazahchal Forest Divisions that includes small isolated elephants in Idukki Sanctuary and Kothamangalam Forest Division; Periyar–Agasthyamalai landscape with Periyar, Ranni, and Srivilliputhur as the most important elephant habitats including elephants isolated to the south of Shencottah pass in the Agasthyamalai hills (Baskaran et. al. 2011, Baskaran 2013, Madhusudan et. al. 2015).In Nepal, elephants were once widespread in the lowland Terai, but are now restricted to a few protected areas along the border with India: Royal Chitwan National Park, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Royal Bardia National Park, and Royal Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, and their environs. There is some movement of animals between these protected areas and between Bardia National Park and the adjacent parts of India. Wild elephants in Nepal occur in four isolated populations – eastern population in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and Jhapa district; central population in Chitwan National Park and Parsa National Park; western population in Bardia National Park and adjoining municipalities; and far-western population in Suklaphanta National Park and adjoining municipalities (Pradhan et. al. 2011). The north Bengal population of elephants in northeastern India range quite some distance into eastern Nepal but is now hindered due to fencing along the Mechi river.In Bhutan, all the existing elephant populations are found along the southern belt of Bhutan along the border with India. They are reported from Samtse, Chhukha, Dagana, Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Royal Manas National Park, Sarang, Samdrupjongkhar and Jomotshangkha Wildlife Sanctuary (NCD 2018, 2019). In the past, elephants made seasonal migrations from Bhutan to the grasslands of India during the wetter summer months of May to October, returning to their winter range in Bhutan from November. Now these movements are restricted as a result of loss of habitat on the Indian side and fragmentation of habitat on the Bhutan side.
In Bangladesh, the species was once widespread, but today it is largely restricted to areas that are relatively less accessible to humans, mainly Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox Bazar. In addition, some animals periodically visit the New Samanbag area of Maulvi Bazar District under the Sylhet Forest Division in the north-east of the country, coming from the neighbouring Indian states of Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam (Ministry of Environment and Forest 2018). The elephant habitat in Cox Bazar has been severely impacted by the rehabilitation of Rohingya refugees from Rakhaine area of Myanmar in the last few years.
The Asian Elephant has a wide, but highly fragmented, distribution in Myanmar. The largest elephant ranges (those supporting >100 individuals) are in the Northern Forest Complex, Sagaing Division (Homalin and Phaungpyin Townships), Rakhine State (Mayyu, Gwa, Thaboung, Pathein and Naguputaw Townships), Bago Yoma, and Tanintharyi Division (Lenya-Mandaing-Manolon area) (Leimgruber et al. 2011, MECAP 2018). In Thailand, the species is distributed in 69 Protected Areas and occurs mainly in the mountains along the border with Myanmar, with smaller fragmented populations occurring in the peninsula in the south (in several forest complexes, south to the border with Malaysia); in the northeast (in the Dong Phaya Yen-Khao Yai forest complex, including Khao Yai National Park, and the Phu Khieo-Nam Nao forest complex); and in the east (in a forest complex composing the Khao Ang Runai Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Khitchakut National Park, and Khao Cha Mao National Park).
In Cambodia, elephants are primarily found in the mountains of the south-west and in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces (Pollard et al. 2008, Gray et al. 2014, Maltby and Bourchier 2011). Recent surveys in Keo Sema District (Mondulkiri Province) suggest that important numbers may remain in that area (WCS unpubl. data). Elsewhere, Asian Elephants persist in Cambodia in only small, scattered populations (Duckworth and Hedges 1998).In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, elephants remain widely but very patchily distributed in very small numbers in forested areas, both in the highlands and lowlands. Two important and likely viable populations are known, one in Xaygnabouly Province west of the Mekong in Nam Pouy NP and one on the Nakai Plateau, where prime elephant habitat has now been submerged under the Nakai Nam Theun Dam. Other potentially important elephant populations occur in Phou Phanang and Phou Khao Khoay in Vientiane Province; Phou Xang He in Savannakhet Province; Dong Ampham and Dong Khanthung, including Xe Pian, close to Cambodian border; and Nam Et, Nam Xam, Phou Dendin, and Nam Ha in the north, close to the Viet Namese and Chinese borders (Khounboline 2011).In Vietnam, only a small population persists now. Elephants are currently distributed in three main regions, namely the Nghe An and adjoining areas (Son La and Ha Tinh ) in northern Vietnam, Quang Nam area in central Vietnam and Dak Lak Province and adjoining areas (Dak Nong, Dong Nai and Binh Phuroc ) in southern Vietnam (Figure 1). Within each region, the population is further fragmented into several isolated small groups of elephants (Varma et al. 2007, Vidya et al. 2007, Thi Ly 2011). These elephant populations remain highly threatened.In China, Asian Elephants once ranged widely over much of southern China, including the Fujiang, Guangdong, and Guangxi Provinces (Smith and MacKinnon 2008). The species was extirpated in southern Fujiang and northern Guangdong during the 12th century, but evidence indicates persistence in Guanxi into the 17th century (Smith and MacKinnon, in press). All that now remains of this once widespread elephant population in China is the remnant in Yunnan where the species survives in three administrative units: Xishuangbanna, Simao, and Lincang (Zhang et al. 2015).In Peninsular Malaysia, the species is still widely distributed in the interior of the country in the following States: Pahang (which probably has the largest population), Perak, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Negeri Sembilan (where very few animals remains). Taman Negara National Park has the largest elephant population (Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia 2013). On Borneo, elephants only occur in the lowlands of the northeastern part of the island in the Malaysian State of Sabah and adjacent parts of Kalimantan (Indonesia). In Sabah, they occur in forested areas in the south, centre, and east of the State in the following Districts: Kinabatangan, Sandakan, Beluran, Lahad Datu, Tawau, and Pensiangan. In Kalimantan, elephants occur only in the Upper Sembakung River in Tindung District. The five managed elephant Ranges in Sabah include: Lower Kinabatangan, North Kinabatangan (Deramakot, Tangkulap, Segaliud Lokan), Central Sabah (Ulu Segama, Danum Valley, Gunung Rara and Kalabakan), Tabin and Ulu Kalumpang (Sabah Wildlife Department 2011, Alfred et al. 2011).In Sumatra (Indonesia), the elephant was once widespread, but now survives only in highly fragmented populations. In the mid-1980s, 44 discrete elephant populations (numbering in total about 2800 to 4800 elephants) were known to exist in Sumatra’s eight provinces scattered from Aceh in the north to Lampung in the south (Blouch and Haryanto 1984, Blouch and Simbolon 1985). However, by 2003, only three of Lampung’s 12 populations were extant (Hedges et al. 2005). A 2009 survey of nine forest blocks in Riau that had counted elephant herds only two years earlier revealed that six herds had gone extinct (Desai and Samsuardi 2009). Over 69% of potential Sumatran elephant habitat has been lost within just one generation (the last 25 years), and much of the remaining forest cover is in blocks smaller than 250 km2, which are too small to contain viable elephant populations (Gopala et al. 2011). Nevertheless, the island is thought to hold some of the most significant populations outside of India. For example, in Lampung Province’s two national parks, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas, produced population estimates of 498 (95% CI=[373, 666]) and 180 (95% CI=[144, 225]) elephants, respectively were obtained (Hedges et al. 2005). Bukit Barisan Selatan NP is, therefore, a critically important area for Asian Elephant conservation. The challenge now is to protect these populations from further habitat loss and poaching.
Asian Elephants still occur in isolated populations in 13 range states, with a very approximate total range area of 486,800 km² (Sukumar 2003, but see Blake and Hedges 2004; note that this range area is a different parameter than the extent of occurrence calculation used for Red List assessments). The species occurs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia and Cambodia, China, Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sumatra) Lao PDR, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah), Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam in South-east Asia. Feral populations occur on some of the Andaman Islands (India).
The elephants of Borneo were believed to be feral descendants of elephants introduced in the 14th–19th centuries (Shoshani and Eisenberg 1982, Cranbrook et al. 2008); however, recent genetic evidence suggests they are indigenous to the island (Fernando et al. 2003, Sharma et al. 2018).
The species was once found throughout Sri Lanka, but today elephants are restricted mostly to the lowlands in the dry zone where they are still fairly widespread in north, south, east, north-western, north-central and south-eastern Sri Lanka; with the exceptions of small remnant populations in the Peak Wilderness Area and Sinharaja Area, elephants are absent from the wet zone of the country. The species continues to lose range to development activities throughout the island.
Once widespread in India, the species is now restricted to four general areas: northeastern India, central India, northwestern India, and southern India. In northeastern India, the elephant range extends from the eastern border of Nepal in northern West Bengal through western Assam along the Himalaya foothills as far as the Mishmi Hills in Arunachal Pradesh. From here it extends into eastern Arunachal Pradesh, the plains of upper Assam, and the foothills of Nagaland. Moving westwards from there, the elephant range spans parts of the lower Brahmaputra plains and the Karbi Plateau to extend into the Garo Hills of Meghalaya through the Khasi Hills. Elsewhere in the south in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and the Barak valley districts of Assam, isolated herds have known to occur (Choudhury 1999). In central India, highly fragmented elephant populations are found in the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and the southern part of West Bengal. Elephants have now started migrating to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh from Chhattisgarh. In north-western India, the species occurs in six fragmented populations at the foot of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, ranging from Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Bahraich Forest Division in the east, to the Yamuna River in the west. The elephants in southern India range over forested hilly tracts of the Western Ghats and the adjacent Eastern Ghats in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and, more recently, in small areas of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa. Their distribution has shrunk within the Ghats owing to increase in human population and resultant development activities and agriculture. At present, elephants are found in five major landscapes in southern India: Uttara Kannada and crestline of the Western Ghats, mainly in the forests of Dandeli that includes a few elephants that move into Maharashtra and Goa; the Malnad plateau, in particular the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, to the east of the Western Ghats; the Brahmagiri–Nilgiri–Wyanad–Mysore landscape, with the Nagarahole, Bandipur, Wyanad and Mudumalai complex of reserves harbouring one of the highest elephant densities, followed by significant numbers in the Biligirirangans and the hilly tract along the Cauvery river of the Eastern Ghats, a small population of elephants that dispersed from here in the 1980s now ranges as scattered groups over isolated hills to the east in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; Anamalai–Nelliyampathy–High Ranges landscape with Anamalai, Parambikulam, Malayattur and Vazahchal Forest Divisions that includes small isolated elephants in Idukki Sanctuary and Kothamangalam Forest Division; Periyar–Agasthyamalai landscape with Periyar, Ranni, and Srivilliputhur as the most important elephant habitats including elephants isolated to the south of Shencottah pass in the Agasthyamalai hills (Baskaran et. al. 2011, Baskaran 2013, Madhusudan et. al. 2015).In Nepal, elephants were once widespread in the lowland Terai, but are now restricted to a few protected areas along the border with India: Royal Chitwan National Park, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Royal Bardia National Park, and Royal Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, and their environs. There is some movement of animals between these protected areas and between Bardia National Park and the adjacent parts of India. Wild elephants in Nepal occur in four isolated populations – eastern population in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and Jhapa district; central population in Chitwan National Park and Parsa National Park; western population in Bardia National Park and adjoining municipalities; and far-western population in Suklaphanta National Park and adjoining municipalities (Pradhan et. al. 2011). The north Bengal population of elephants in northeastern India range quite some distance into eastern Nepal but is now hindered due to fencing along the Mechi river.In Bhutan, all the existing elephant populations are found along the southern belt of Bhutan along the border with India. They are reported from Samtse, Chhukha, Dagana, Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Royal Manas National Park, Sarang, Samdrupjongkhar and Jomotshangkha Wildlife Sanctuary (NCD 2018, 2019). In the past, elephants made seasonal migrations from Bhutan to the grasslands of India during the wetter summer months of May to October, returning to their winter range in Bhutan from November. Now these movements are restricted as a result of loss of habitat on the Indian side and fragmentation of habitat on the Bhutan side.
In Bangladesh, the species was once widespread, but today it is largely restricted to areas that are relatively less accessible to humans, mainly Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox Bazar. In addition, some animals periodically visit the New Samanbag area of Maulvi Bazar District under the Sylhet Forest Division in the north-east of the country, coming from the neighbouring Indian states of Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam (Ministry of Environment and Forest 2018). The elephant habitat in Cox Bazar has been severely impacted by the rehabilitation of Rohingya refugees from Rakhaine area of Myanmar in the last few years.
The Asian Elephant has a wide, but highly fragmented, distribution in Myanmar. The largest elephant ranges (those supporting >100 individuals) are in the Northern Forest Complex, Sagaing Division (Homalin and Phaungpyin Townships), Rakhine State (Mayyu, Gwa, Thaboung, Pathein and Naguputaw Townships), Bago Yoma, and Tanintharyi Division (Lenya-Mandaing-Manolon area) (Leimgruber et al. 2011, MECAP 2018). In Thailand, the species is distributed in 69 Protected Areas and occurs mainly in the mountains along the border with Myanmar, with smaller fragmented populations occurring in the peninsula in the south (in several forest complexes, south to the border with Malaysia); in the northeast (in the Dong Phaya Yen-Khao Yai forest complex, including Khao Yai National Park, and the Phu Khieo-Nam Nao forest complex); and in the east (in a forest complex composing the Khao Ang Runai Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Khitchakut National Park, and Khao Cha Mao National Park).
In Cambodia, elephants are primarily found in the mountains of the south-west and in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces (Pollard et al. 2008, Gray et al. 2014, Maltby and Bourchier 2011). Recent surveys in Keo Sema District (Mondulkiri Province) suggest that important numbers may remain in that area (WCS unpubl. data). Elsewhere, Asian Elephants persist in Cambodia in only small, scattered populations (Duckworth and Hedges 1998).In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, elephants remain widely but very patchily distributed in very small numbers in forested areas, both in the highlands and lowlands. Two important and likely viable populations are known, one in Xaygnabouly Province west of the Mekong in Nam Pouy NP and one on the Nakai Plateau, where prime elephant habitat has now been submerged under the Nakai Nam Theun Dam. Other potentially important elephant populations occur in Phou Phanang and Phou Khao Khoay in Vientiane Province; Phou Xang He in Savannakhet Province; Dong Ampham and Dong Khanthung, including Xe Pian, close to Cambodian border; and Nam Et, Nam Xam, Phou Dendin, and Nam Ha in the north, close to the Viet Namese and Chinese borders (Khounboline 2011).In Vietnam, only a small population persists now. Elephants are currently distributed in three main regions, namely the Nghe An and adjoining areas (Son La and Ha Tinh ) in northern Vietnam, Quang Nam area in central Vietnam and Dak Lak Province and adjoining areas (Dak Nong, Dong Nai and Binh Phuroc ) in southern Vietnam (Figure 1). Within each region, the population is further fragmented into several isolated small groups of elephants (Varma et al. 2007, Vidya et al. 2007, Thi Ly 2011). These elephant populations remain highly threatened.In China, Asian Elephants once ranged widely over much of southern China, including the Fujiang, Guangdong, and Guangxi Provinces (Smith and MacKinnon 2008). The species was extirpated in southern Fujiang and northern Guangdong during the 12th century, but evidence indicates persistence in Guanxi into the 17th century (Smith and MacKinnon, in press). All that now remains of this once widespread elephant population in China is the remnant in Yunnan where the species survives in three administrative units: Xishuangbanna, Simao, and Lincang (Zhang et al. 2015).In Peninsular Malaysia, the species is still widely distributed in the interior of the country in the following States: Pahang (which probably has the largest population), Perak, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Negeri Sembilan (where very few animals remains). Taman Negara National Park has the largest elephant population (Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia 2013). On Borneo, elephants only occur in the lowlands of the northeastern part of the island in the Malaysian State of Sabah and adjacent parts of Kalimantan (Indonesia). In Sabah, they occur in forested areas in the south, centre, and east of the State in the following Districts: Kinabatangan, Sandakan, Beluran, Lahad Datu, Tawau, and Pensiangan. In Kalimantan, elephants occur only in the Upper Sembakung River in Tindung District. The five managed elephant Ranges in Sabah include: Lower Kinabatangan, North Kinabatangan (Deramakot, Tangkulap, Segaliud Lokan), Central Sabah (Ulu Segama, Danum Valley, Gunung Rara and Kalabakan), Tabin and Ulu Kalumpang (Sabah Wildlife Department 2011, Alfred et al. 2011).In Sumatra (Indonesia), the elephant was once widespread, but now survives only in highly fragmented populations. In the mid-1980s, 44 discrete elephant populations (numbering in total about 2800 to 4800 elephants) were known to exist in Sumatra’s eight provinces scattered from Aceh in the north to Lampung in the south (Blouch and Haryanto 1984, Blouch and Simbolon 1985). However, by 2003, only three of Lampung’s 12 populations were extant (Hedges et al. 2005). A 2009 survey of nine forest blocks in Riau that had counted elephant herds only two years earlier revealed that six herds had gone extinct (Desai and Samsuardi 2009). Over 69% of potential Sumatran elephant habitat has been lost within just one generation (the last 25 years), and much of the remaining forest cover is in blocks smaller than 250 km2, which are too small to contain viable elephant populations (Gopala et al. 2011). Nevertheless, the island is thought to hold some of the most significant populations outside of India. For example, in Lampung Province’s two national parks, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas, produced population estimates of 498 (95% CI=[373, 666]) and 180 (95% CI=[144, 225]) elephants, respectively were obtained (Hedges et al. 2005). Bukit Barisan Selatan NP is, therefore, a critically important area for Asian Elephant conservation. The challenge now is to protect these populations from further habitat loss and poaching.
Conservation:
The key conservation priorities for the Asian Elephant are:
- conservation of the elephant's habitat and maintaining habitat connectivity by securing corridors;
- the management of human-elephant conflict as part of an integrated, landscape-scale land-use policy;
- better protection to the species through improved legislation and law enforcement, improved and enhanced field patrolling, and regulating/curbing trade in ivory, live elephants and other elephant products.