Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Fact Sheet: Summary

Order: Proboscidea

Family: Elephantidae

Subfamily: Elephantinae

Subtribe: Elephantina

Genus: Elephas

Species: Elephas maximus

Subspecies: E.m. maximus, E.m. indicus,
E.m. sumatranus, E.m. borneensis

Body Weight:
2,000-5,500 kg. (4,400-12,000 lbs)

Shoulder Height:
Male: 3.2 m. (10.5 ft.);
Female: 2.24 m. (7.3 ft.)

Trunk: One "finger" at the end

Tusks: Females tuskless; percentages of tuskless males in populations vary widely (0 to 100%)

Range: Indian subcontinent, Continental Southeast Asia, and Asian islands

Habitat: Tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests & dry broadleaf & dry scrub forests

IUCN Status: Endangered (2008 assessment) (Choudhury et al. 2008)

CITES Appendix: Appendix I (UNEP 2019)

Population in Wild: approximately 46,000 individuals.

Activity Cycle: Diurnal and nocturnal; feeding & traveling to food 70-90% of the time

Social Groups: Matriarchal herds of 8-12; males solitary

Diet: Herbivorous

Predators: Humans

Age of Sexual Maturity:
Males: 14 to 15 years
Females: 15 to 16

Gestation: 22 months

Litter Size: Usually 1; twins possible

Birth weight: 75-115 kg (165-254 lbs)

Age at Weaning: 18 mo.-3+ years.

Typical Life Expectancy:
Managed care: median life expectancy of about 47-48 years (females)

Feature Facts:

• Considered holy in Hindu and Buddhist cultures
• Have ability to hear very low frequency sounds from far-off environment, including distant thunderstorms and hoofbeats of running animals.
• Highly social animals with extremely complex behaviors, including, empathy, problem solving and communication
• Gestation is longest of any mammal, 18-22 months, and cows can calve after 50 years of age
• India has over 50% of remaining wild populations
• Current threats include poaching, habitat loss/fragmentation, and conflict with humans
• First North American elephant born in managed care in Philadelphia, PA in 1880.