Asian elephant

Elephas maximus · The Asian elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia, found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Borneo.

Also called Asiatic elephant, Indian Elephant.

Asian elephant
Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Asian elephant
Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Asian elephant
Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderProboscidea
FamilyElephantidae
GenusElephas
SpeciesElephas maximus

Where it lives

Forests and grasslands of India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

Fun facts

  • An Asian elephant's trunk has just one finger-like tip, so it often wraps around food and squeezes it into its mouth instead of grasping it.
  • Asian elephants can eat up to 150 kg of plant matter in a single day.
  • Elephants can remember tone, melody and words, which lets them recognise more than 20 spoken commands.
  • A newborn Asian elephant calf weighs about 100 kg, and its mother carries it for 18 to 22 months before birth.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).