THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT- LOST IN TRADE The Loxodonta Africana, more commonly known as the African elephant, are the largest animals currently walking the earth. Weighing an immense 6 tons, the African elephant’s distinct features like the long trunk, the huge ears and strong tusks help them adapt to their surroundings. They are usually found in Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests, Flooded Grasslands and Savannahs, Miombo woodlands, Acacia savannahs . These magnificent creatures affect their ecosystem in numerous ways through their mass translocation and humongous size. Some examples are- · The African elephants feed on a range of vegetation from grasses to trees and forage over large areas. This makes them excellent seed dispersers, depositing seed-laden dung as they travel. · Their dung helps fertilize seedlings and enrich the soil with nutrients, thus supporting plant and tree renewal across the elephants’ range. Their dung is also an important, and abundant
ASIATIC ELEPHANT About Asiatic Elephants The Asian Elephant( Scientific name: Elephas maximus indicus ), with a height of 6.5-11.5 feet, weight of around 11000 pounds, and length of around 21 feet, is the largest land mammal on the Asian continent. Asian Elephants are extremely sociable. The females live with their young in herds, whereas males go off on their own. To communicate with each other, they use growls and moans, which can be heard more than a mile away. Their average lifespan in the wild is up to 60 years. They are herbivore mammals. The Subspecies of Asian Elephants- NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME LOCATION Current Estimated population Indian elephant E.m. indicus South and Southeast Asia Around 40,000 Sumatran elephant E.m. sumatranus Indonesian islands 1700-1800 Sri Lankan elephant E.m. Maximus Sri Lanka 5879 Why are they poached? The wide motive for poaching Asiatic Elephants is their ivory which is used as a status symbol by humans in the form of ornamen