Photo by Cede Prudente – Copyright WWF

The Asian elephant, also known as the Indian elephant, is the largest living land animal in Asia. (It is the second largest land animal in the world, behind the African elephant.) The species is found primarily in large parts of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Indochina and parts of Indonesia. It is considered endangered, with between 25,600 and 32,750 left in the wild.

This animal is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in South and Southeast Asia for centuries and also in ceremonial purposes. Historical sources indicate that they were sometimes used during the harvest season primarily for milling.

An elephant’s trunk is actually a long nose with many functions. It is used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles. Asian elephants have a fingerlike feature on the end of their trunk that they can use to grab small items.

Diet of the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
They eat 10% of their body weight each day, which for adults is between 170-200 kilograms of food per day. They need 80–200 liters of water a day, and use more for bathing. They sometimes scrape the soil for minerals. Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark, and they eat a lot of these things. An adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of food in a single day.

U.S. Conservation of the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP), based in New York City, is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the diminishing number of Asian elephants left on our planet through its work with domesticated elephants. The AEACP raises funds through donations and the sale of artwork created by 35 elephants wielding a paintbrushes with their trunks.

FAST FACTS>>

• Elephants life spans have been exaggerated in the past and live on average for 60 years in the wild and 80 in captivity
• Female elephants (cows) live in family herds with their young, but adult males (bulls) tend to roam on their own

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