Sumatran Elephant

  

The Life of Animals | Sumatran Elephant | In general, Asian elephants are Smaller than African elephants body and have the highest point on the head. In 1985, an island-wide rapid survey suggested That the between 2.800 and 4.800 elephants lived in all eight Provinces of mainland Sumatra in 44 Populations. The population in South Bukit Barisan National Park was estimated at 498 individuals, while the population in Way Kambas National Park was estimated at 180 individuals.

By 2008, the elephants locally Had Become Extinct in 23 of the 43 ranges Identified in Sumatra in 1985, Indicating a very significant decline of the Sumatran elephant population up to That time. By 2008, the elephant was locally Extinct in West Sumatra Province and at risk of being lost from North Sumatra Province too. In Riau Province survived only about 350 elephants across nine separate ranges.
 

65% of Sumatran elephant Deaths are Because of human persecution30% of this human persecution is through poisoning: Because of fear of the animal83% of the Sumatran elephant's former habitat has now been turned into Plantations; this means That the elephant has to learn to adapt to new habitats if it is to live Elephas maximus is listed on CITES Appendix I. Sumatran elephants are protected under Indonesian law. In 2004, the Tesso Nilo National Park has been established in Riau province to protect the Sumatran elephant's habitat.
 

Sri Lankan Elephant

  

The Life of Animals | Sri Lankan Elephant | In general, Asian elephants are Smaller than African elephants body and have the highest point on the head.  Only 7% of males bear tusks. Mostly Elephants are restricted to the lowlands in the dry zone, where They are still fairly widespread in the north, south, east, north-western, north-central and south-eastern Sri Lanka. In the Mahaweli Development Area, protected areas Such as Wasgomuwa National Park, Flood Plains National Park, Somawathiya National Park, and Trikonamadu Nature Reserve have been linked resulting in an overall area of 1.172 km2 (453 sq mi) of contiguous habitat for elephants. Nevertheless, about 65% of the range extends elephants outside protected areas.

Ivory trade in Sri Lanka had a very long history for more than 2000 years. In 19th century and early 20th century many bull elephants were the resource persons killed by trophy hunters.  During the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, elephants were the resource persons maimed or killed by land mines. Between 1990 and 1993, a total of 165 wild elephants Died as a result of Gunshot injuries. In 1994, were the resource persons at least 96 elephants killed by poachers or land mines, and up to twenty elephants have fallen Victims to land mines and been crippled.

The greatest threat to elephants comes from an expanding human population and its demand for land. Loss of significant extents of elephant range Continues to development currently, with a number of irrigation and development projects leading to the conversion of more elephant ranges to irrigated agriculture and settlements.

Elephants are killed to protect crops and houses. During Drought seasons many elephants damage agricultural land for food. Nearly 80 elephants were the resource persons killed in north western Sri Lanka, 50 in south and east, and another 30 in other parts of the country, totaling 160 elephant Deaths in 2006 alone.

Indian Elephant

  
The Life of Animals | Indian Elephant | In general, Asian elephants are Smaller than African elephants body and have the highest point on the head. Females are usually Smaller than males, and have short or no tusks The largest Indian elephant was 3:43 meters (11.3 ft) high at the shoulder In 1985, two large elephant bulls were the resource persons spotted for the first time in Bardia National Park, and named Raja Gaj and Kanchha.

Smaller Indian elephants have ears, but Relatively broader skulls and larger trunks than African elephants. Toes are large and broad. Unlike African Their cousins, Their abdomen is proportionate with Their body weight but the African elephant has a large abdomen as compared to the skulls. The movement and habitat utilization patterns of an elephant population studied were the resource persons in southern India During 1981-83 within a 1.130 km2 (440 sq mi) study area.

Seasonal habitat preferences were the resource persons related to the availability of water and the palatability of food plants. During the dry months of January to April, the elephants congregated at high densities of up to five individuals per km2 in river valleys where browse plants had a much higher protein content than the coarse tall grasses on hill slopes. During the second wet season from September to December, the tall grasses Became fibrous, They moved into the lower elevation forests of open short grass.

During three years of the survey, Their annual home ranges overlapped to a large extent with only minor shifts in the home ranges the between years. Elephants are classified as mega herbivores and consume up to 150 kg (330 lb) of plant matter per day. In a study area of 1.130 km2 (440 sq mi) in southern India, elephants were the resource persons recorded to feed on 112 different plant species, most commonly of the order Malvales, and the legume, palm, true grass and sedge families. They graze on the tall grasses, but the portion is consumed varies with season. Later grasses are higher than 0.5 m (1.6 ft), They uproot entire clumps, dust Them skilfully and consume the fresh leave tops, but discard the roots.

During the dry season from January to April, browse constitutes a major food resource Nepal's Bardia National Park, elephants consume large amounts of the floodplain grass, particularly During the monsoon season. During a study in a tropical moist mixed deciduous forested area of 160 km2 (62 sq mi) in Assam, elephants were the resource persons observed to feed on about 20 species of grasses, plants and trees.  oss of significant extents of elephant range and Suitable habitat Continues Their free movement is impeded by reservoirs, hydroelectric projects and associated canals, irrigation dams, numerous pockets of cultivation and Plantations, Highways, railway lines, mining and industrial development.

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. That Elephants pass through from one forest patch to another dash against the trains and die. In Bangladesh, forested areas That served as prime elephant habitats have undergone drastic reduction, the which had a severe impact on the wild elephant population. illegal timber extraction plays a significant role in deforestation and habitat degradation. In Myanmar, the demand for elephant ivory for making tourist items is higher than ever before. The military government shows little interest in reducing the ivory trade, while the elephants in the country have the silent Become Victims. Foreign tourists are Responsible for the massive rise in price of ivory tusks the which fuels the illegal killing of elephants.

Asian Elephant

 

  

The Life of Animals | Asian Elephant | In general, Asian elephants are Smaller than African elephants body and have the highest point on the head.  Elephants are crepuscular. At times They scrape the soil for minerals and Will occasionally eat if hungry Their own faeces Elephant herds follow well-defined seasonal migration routes.  Herds of cows range from 8 to 21 animals. Adult males do not attach themselves to a herd of cows Unless it contains a female in estrus. More than one adult may accompany male cows, but in general will of the dominant bulls mate with the cows. Younger bulls Will occasionally engage in mock fighting. Strong fights over access to females are extremely rare. Bull elephants form small groups known as 'bachelor herds', but the bulls may also roam independently at Various times Elephants are Able to distinguish low amplitude sounds.

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 Will the Bulls fight one another to get access to estrous females. Bulls reach sexual maturity around the age of 12-15. Between the age of 10 to 20 years, bulls undergo an annual phenomenon known as "musth". Secretions containing pheromones occur During this period, from the paired temporal glands located on the head the between the lateral edge of the eye and the base of the ear.

The gestation period is 18-22 months, and the female Gives birth to one calf, or occasionally twins. At birth, the calf weighs about 100 kg (220 lb), and is suckled for up to 2-3 years. 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. At most seasons of the year the Asian elephants are timid and much more ready to Flee from a foe than to the make an attack.

Sometimes elephants rogue take up a position near a road making it impassable to travelers. Females with calves are at all times dangerous to approach. When an Asian elephant makes a charge, it curls up its trunk tightly and attacks by trampling its victim with feet or knees, or, if a male, by pinning it to the ground with its tusks. Indications at the first, domestic elephants are secured tightly to Prevent any mishaps. A grander animated object than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly be imagined.  The usual Pictorial representations of the Indian elephant charging with upraised trunk are accordingly quite incorrect
 

African Bush Elephant

 

  

The Life of Animals | African Bush Elephant | The African Elephant is the largest living terrestrial animal, normally Reaching 6 to 7.3 meters (19.7 to 24.0 ft) in length and 3.5 to 4 meters (11.5 to 13.1 ft) in height at the head, and Weighing the between 6.000 to 9.000 kg (13.000 to 20.000 lb). The animal is characterized by its large head; two large ears That cover its shoulders and radiate excess heat a large and muscular trunk; two prominent tusks, the which are well-developed in Both sexes, although more commonly in males; a short neck a large, barrel-like body  four long and heavy legs and a Relatively short tail.

The trunk is the most characteristic feature of the African Bush Elephant. Lions in Chobe National Park in Botswana have been observed for some time taking Both infants (23% of elephant kills) and juveniles. Humans are the elephant's major predator. Elephants have been hunted for meat, skins, bones, and tusks. Increased Elephant trophy hunting in the 19th and 20th Centuries, tourism and Plantations increasingly attracted sport hunters. In 1989, hunting of the African Bush Elephant for ivory trading was forbidden, after the elephant population fell from Several million at the beginning of the 20th century to Fewer than 700,000. The population of African Bush Elephants was halved During the 1980s.

In 2006, an elephant slaughter was documented in Southeastern Chad by aerial surveys. This region has a Decades-old history of poaching of elephants, the which has Caused the elephant population of the region, the which exceeded 300 000 in 1970, to drop to approximately 10.000 today. The African Bush Elephant is Officially protected by Chadian government, but the resources and manpower provided by the government (with some European Union assistance) have proven insufficient to stop the poaching.

Human encroachment into or adjacent to natural areas where Bush Elephants occur has led to recent research into methods of Safely driving groups of elephants away from Humans, including the discovery That playback of the recorded sounds of angry honey bees are remarkably effective at prompting elephants to Flee an area.