8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 1/8

The Indian Elephant ( Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three recognized subspecies of theAsian elephant, and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed asendangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last threegenerations, estimated to be 60 – 75 years. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss,degradation and fragmentation.[1] 

Contents

[hide] 

  1 Characteristics   2 Distribution and habitat   3 Ecology and behaviour   4 Threats   5 Conservation   6 See also   7 References   8 Further reading   9 External links 

[edit] Characteristics

In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body pointon the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level.[2] Indian elephants reach a shoulder height of between 2 and 3.5 m (6.6 and 11.5 ft), weigh

between 2,000 and 5,000 kg (4,400 and 11,000 lb), and have 19 pairs of ribs. Their skin color islighter than of  maximus with smaller patches of  depigmentation, but darker than of  sumatranus. Females are usually smaller than males, and have short or no tusks.[3] 

The largest Indian elephant was 3.43 metres (11.3 ft) high at the shoulder.[4] In 1985, two largeelephant bulls were spotted for the first time in Bardia National Park , and named Raja Gaj andKanchha. They roamed the park area together and made occasional visits to the females. Raja

Gaj stood 11.3 ft (3.4 m) tall at the shoulder and had a massive body weight. His appearance hasbeen compared to that of a mammoth due to his high bi-domed shaped head. His forehead anddomes were more prominent than in other Asian bull elephants.[5] 

Indian elephants have smaller ears, but relatively broader skulls and larger trunks than Africanelephants. Toes are large and broad. Unlike their African cousins, their abdomen is proportionatewith their body weight but the African elephant has a large abdomen as compared to the skulls.

[edit] Distribution and habitat

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 2/8

 

Wild elephants in Munnar, Kerala 

An elephant herd in Jim Corbett National Park  

A wild elephant in Bandipur National Park  

Elephant bathing in Nagarhole National Park  

Indian elephants are native to mainland Asia: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsular, Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They inhabit grasslands, drydeciduous, moist deciduous, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. In the early 1990s, theirestimated population size was[6] 

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 3/8

  26,390 – 30,770 in India, where populations are restricted to four general areas:o  in the Northwest — at the foot of the Himalayas in Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh, 

ranging from Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary to the Yamuna River; o  in the Northeast — from the eastern border of Nepal in northern West Bengal 

through western Assam along the Himalaya foothills as far as the Mishmi Hills, 

extending into eastern Arunachal Pradesh, the plains of upper Assam, and thefoothills of  Nagaland, to the Garo Hills of  Meghalaya through the Khasi Hills, toparts of the lower Brahmaputra plains and Karbi Plateau; isolated herds occur inTripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and in the Barak Valley districts of Assam:

o  in the central part — in Orissa, Jharkhand, and in the southern part of WestBengal, with some animals wandering into Chattisgarh; 

o  in the South — eight populations are fragmented from each other in northernKarnataka, in the crestline of Karnataka – Western Ghats, in Bhadra – Malnad, inBrahmagiri – Nilgiris – Eastern Ghats, in Nilambur – Silent Valley – Coimbatore, inAnamalai – Parambikulam, in Periyar – Srivilliputhur, and one in Agasthyamalai; 

  100 – 125 in Nepal, where their range is restricted to a few protected areas in the Terai 

along the border with India. In 2002, estimates ranged from 106 to 172 resident andmigratory elephants, with most of them in Bardia National Park ;[7]   150 – 250 in Bangladesh, where only isolated populations survive in the Chittagong Hills;   250 – 500 in Bhutan, where their range is limited to protected areas in the south along the

border with India;  4,000 – 5,000 in Myanmar, where populations are highly fragmented, and occur in the

northern and western hill ranges, in Pegu Yoma of central Myanmar, Tenasserim andShan State; 

  2,500 – 3,200 in Thailand, mainly in the mountains along the border with Myanmar, withsmaller fragmented populations occurring in the peninsula in the south;

  2,100 – 3,100 in Malaysia;  500 – 1,000 Laos, where they remain widely but patchily distributed in forested areas, both

in the highlands and lowlands;  200 – 250 in China, where they survive only in the prefectures of  Xishuangbanna, Simao, 

and Lincang of southern Yunnan;   250 – 600 in Cambodia, where they primarily inhabit the mountains of the south-west and

in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri Provinces;   70 – 150 in the southern parts of Vietnam.

[edit] Ecology and behaviour

The movement and habitat utilization patterns of an elephant population were studied in southern

India during 1981 – 83 within a 1,130 km2

(440 sq mi) study area. The area encompasses adiversity of vegetation types — from dry thorn forest at 250 to 400 m (820 to 1,300 ft) of altitudethrough deciduous forest (400 to 1,400 m (1,300 to 4,600 ft)) to stunted evergreen shola forestand grassland (1,400 to 1,800 m (4,600 to 5,900 ft)). Five different elephant clans, eachconsisting of between 50 and 200 individuals had home ranges of between 105 km2 (41 sq mi)and 320 km2 (120 sq mi), which overlapped. Seasonal habitat preferences were related to theavailability of water and the palatability of food plants. During the dry months of January toApril, elephants congregated at high densities of up to five individuals per km2 in river valleys

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 4/8

where browse plants had a much higher protein content than the coarse tall grasses on hill slopes.With the onset of rains in May, they dispersed over a wider area at lower densities, largely intothe tall grass forests, to feed on the fresh grasses, which then had a high protein value. During thesecond wet season from September to December, when the tall grasses became fibrous, theymoved into lower elevation short grass open forests. The normal movement pattern could be

upset during years of adverse environmental conditions. However, the movement pattern of elephants in this region has not basically changed for over a century, as inferred fromdescriptions recorded during the 19th century.[8] 

In the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve three elephant clans had overall home ranges of 562 km2 (217 sq mi), 670 km2 (260 sq mi) and 799 km2 (308 sq mi) in the beginning of the 1990s. Duringthree years of survey, their annual home ranges overlapped to a large extent with only minorshifts in the home ranges between years.[9] 

Elephants are classified as megaherbivores and consume up to 150 kg (330 lb) of plant matterper day.[10] They are generalist feeders, and both grazers and browsers. In a study area of 

1,130 km

2

(440 sq mi) in southern India, elephants were recorded to feed on 112 different plantspecies, most commonly of the order Malvales, and the legume, palm, sedge and true grass families. They graze on the tall grasses, but the portion consumed varies with season. When thenew flush appears in April, they remove the tender blades in small clumps. Later, when grassesare higher than 0.5 m (1.6 ft), they uproot entire clumps, dust them skilfully and consume thefresh leave tops, but discard the roots. When grasses are mature in autumn, they clean andconsume the succulent basal portions with the roots, and discard the fibrous blades. From thebamboos, they eat seedlings, culms and lateral shoots. During the dry season from January toApril, browse constitutes a major food resource. They take both leaves and twigs preferring thefresh foliage, and consume thorn bearing shoots of  acacia species without any obviousdiscomfort. They feed on the bark of  white thorn and other flowering plants, and consume thefruits of  wood apple, tamarind, kumbhi and date palm.[11] 

In Nepal’s Bardia National Park , elephants consume large amounts of the floodplain grass, particularly during the monsoon season. They browse more in the dry season with bark constituting a major part of their diet in the cool part of that season.[12] During a study in atropical moist mixed deciduous forested area of 160 km2 (62 sq mi) in Assam, elephants wereobserved to feed on about 20 species of grasses, plants and trees. Grasses such as  Imperata

cylindrica and  Leersia hexandra constituted by far the most predominant component of theirdiet.[13] 

[edit] Threats

Loss of significant extents of elephant range and suitable habitat continues; their free movementis impeded by reservoirs, hydroelectric projects and associated canals, irrigation dams, numerouspockets of cultivation and plantations, highways, railway lines, mining and industrialdevelopment.[6] 

Elephant conservation in northern West Bengal has been set back due to high-levels of human – 

elephant conflict and elephant mortality owing to railway accidents. The railway track between

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 5/8

Siliguri and Alipurduar passes through 74 km of various forest divisions. Every day, 20 trainsrun on this track at high speeds. Elephants that pass through from one forest patch to anotherdash against the trains and die. A total of 39 dead elephants were reported during the period of 1958 to 2008, of which ten were reported killed between 2004 to 2008.[14] 

In Bangladesh, forested areas that served as prime elephant habitat have undergone drasticreduction, which had a severe impact on the wild elephant population. Habitat loss andfragmentation is attributed to the increasing human population and its need for fuel wood andtimber. Illegal timber extraction plays a significant role in deforestation and habitat degradation.As a result of the shrinking habitat, elephants have become more and more prone to coming intodirect conflict with humans.[15] 

In Myanmar, demand for elephant ivory for making tourist items is higher than ever before. Themilitary government shows little interest in reducing the ivory trade, while the elephants in thecountry have become the silent victims. After the world-wide ivory ban, prices of raw ivory inthe country skyrocketed from $76 a kilo for large tusks in 1989/90 to over $200 a kilo by the

mid-1990s. Foreign tourists are responsible for the massive rise in price of ivory tusks whichfuels the illegal killing of elephants. There is also a sizeable trade in ivory chopsticks andcarvings, smuggled by traders from Myanmar into China.[16] 

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 6/8

 

The Asian Elephant ( Elephas maximus) is often considered the flagship for conservation inSouth and Southeast Asia. IUCN, the World Conservation Union, estimates that there arebetween 38 and 51 thousand wild Asian Elephants, as compared to more than 600 thousandAfrican Elephants. That makes the population of the Asian Elephant a mere 6% to 8% of theirAfrican cousins. The world's second largest land mammal is in urgent need of effectiveconservation under both national and international legislation. The Asian Elephant has beengiven the highest level of protection in India by its inclusion in Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife(Protection) Act 1972. They are also included in Appendix I of the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Despite these conservation measures, thesurvival of the Asian Elephant continues to be threatened by fragmentation and degradation of natural habitat, poaching for ivory and human-elephant conflict.

Human-elephant conflict refers to negative interaction

between wild elephants and human beings such as crop

raiding by elephants, human death and injury caused by

elephants and humans killing elephants. In order toensure the long-term survival of the Asian Elephant, it is

important to identify and understand the direct and

indirect threats to their survival. A Rocha India has been

able to raise grant support from The Rufford Maurice

Laing Foundation, UK and the US Fish and Wildlife

Service to undertake a project to understand the human-

elephant conflict issue since 2004. The single largest population of elephants in Asia is found in

southern India in Elephant Reserve No. 7 of Project Elephant (a conservation project of the

Government of India). The study area, the Bannerghatta National Park, forms part of Reserve

No. 7. It covers an area of 104 km² and is situated about 20 km south of the city of Bangalore.

According to a recent census of the Karnataka Forest Department, the area has around 56

elephants, living at a density of 0.54 animals per km². This is a high density, and it is not

surprising that there is human-elephant conflict on the margins of the Bannerghatta National

Park, which is surrounded by human settlements.

Elephant killed during crop raids

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 7/8

 

Sources:

http://www.arocha.org/in-en/work/2338-DSY.html 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Elephant 

http://ijbtjournal.com/Documents/Vol.%20No.1(special)15-22.pdf  

http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/Radioserials/saving%20asian%20elephants.pdf  

http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/critically_endangered_booklet.pdf  

don’t copy paste the addresses as it is..change the names to make them look sensible

pdf have been mailed get required info from them as well.

I’m sending two photos big enough for cover page. 

Elephant has been listed in the CITES appendix one: it’s given below not down some information from

the para’s below as well:=-

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union forConservation of Nature (IUCN). The convention was opened for signature in 1973, and CITESentered into force on July 1, 1975. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accordsvarying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species of animals and plants. In order toensure that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was not violated, theSecretariat of GATT was consulted during the drafting process.[2] 

Only one species protected by CITES, the Spix's Macaw, has become extinct in the wild[3] as a

result of trade since the Convention entered into force (but see case studies in Hutton andDickinson[4] and Stiles[5] for further discussion of the role CITES has played in the fate of particular species).

8/2/2019 The Indian Elephant

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-indian-elephant 8/8

 Appendix I

Appendix I, about 800 species, are species that are threatened with extinction and are or may beaffected by trade. Commercial trade in wild-caught specimens of these species is illegal(permitted only in exceptional licensed circumstances). Trade of captive-bred animals or

cultivated plants of Appendix I species are considered Appendix II specimens, with concomitantrequirements (see below and Article VII). The Scientific Authority of the exporting country mustmake a non-detriment finding, assuring that export of the individuals will not adversely affect thewild population. Any trade in these species requires export and import permits. The ManagementAuthority of the exporting state is expected to check that an import permit has been secured andthat the importing state is able to care for the specimen adequately. Notable animal species listedin Appendix I include the red panda ( Aluris fulgenis), gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), the chimpanzee species (Pan spp.), tigers (Panthera tigris subspecies), Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica),leopards (Panthera pardus), Jaguar (Panthera onca), Cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus), Asianelephant ( Elephas maximus), some populations of  African Elephant ( Loxodonta africana), thedugong and manatees (Sirenia), and all Rhinoceros species (except some Southern African

subspecies populations).

[13]