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Elephant Facts About a third of the world population of Asian elephants lives in captivity as working elephants. Whether in the wild or at work, elephants are among the most intelligent of all land mammals, and are capable of complex social behaviour and communication.
There are a total of about 15,000 to 16,000 working elephants in Asia today. Working elephants are used in more than a dozen Asian countries. The largest populations of working elephants are found in India, Burma, and Thailand. Carrying tourists is one of the most common jobs of a working elephant. Other uses of elephants vary from country to country and include a wide range of all walks of life. Some elephants are used in religious ceremonies, others are made to perform tricks with street beggars. Elephants are also used in logging, both legal and illegal, as well as in managing of nature conservation areas. Nature conservation covers a wide range of tasks for elephants, including anti-poaching patrolling, arresting of poachers, conservation research, and various rescue missions. These elephants are crossing the River Narayani in Chitwan National Park in Nepal during a population count of endangered Indian rhinos. In most parts of southern Nepal's national parks, as well as those of some other countries, elephants are the only possible all-terrain vehicle. Elephant handlers, or mahouts as they are called in many Asian countries, vary widely in their way of handling elephants. Some are gentle, while others often resort to unnecessary violence towards the elephant. WEPA provides information for elephant trainers and handlers about science-based, efficient training and handling methods that make it unnecessary to use pain, injury, or fear as methods of controlling elephants.
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The trunk is the most sensitive part of an elephant’s body. Placing the tip of one’s trunk into another elephant’s mouth is a friendly signal, indicating trust in the other individual. If elephants are allowed to interact freely from a young age, and to later continue interacting while not in training or working, they will develop a rich social behaviour, which has a positive effect in their well-being. A grown-up elephant eats from 150 to 300 kilograms (330 to 660 pounds) of plant material per day. Depending on the moisture content of the fodder, the elephant also needs quite a lot to drink. If a large part of the food is dried, such as hay, the elephant will need 100 to 200 litres (22 to 44 gallons) of water daily, whereas an elephant eating fresh vegetation needs considerably less. Once a male elephant has matured, he starts experiencing phases called the musth. These are periods during which his level of testosterone is dramatically higher than normally, and he becomes more competetive and aggressive towards other males. One of the outward signs of musth is a dark fluid secreted from his temporal glands, as can be seen in the photo of this tuskless male. During musth, elephants also show an increased level of aggression towards people. If the elephant has previously received painful training or handling by people, the extent of musth aggression towards people tends to be considerably higher compared to an elephant that has been trained and handled in an animal-friendly way. |
The Asian elephant is the closest living relative of the extinct woolly mammoth. Tufts of hair can still be seen on today's elephants, especially often on top of the head of young ones. Elephants have rich social behaviour. Many aspects of friendly communication are expressed by various touches by the trunk. A loud rumbling noise, so low-pitched that it sometimes is below the human hearing range, is another frequently used social signal within a group. In the wild, female elephants live in family groups consisting of close relatives and their offspring. Female offspring may stay in their mother’s group for the rest of their lives, whereas males leave the family group before the age of ten and form bachelor groups with other young males. After reaching adulthood, males lead a solitary life. An elephant has a lifespan similar to that of humans: they can reach the age of 60 or 70. - This family group has been photographed in semi-natural conditions at Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for mistreated working elephants in Thailand. The appearance of Asian elephants - in terms of size, body proportions, and colours - varies throughout their range. The largest elephants are found in the northernmost reaches of the elephant range, such as northern India and southern Nepal, and many of those elephants are uniformly gray in colour. For example in Thailand, where this photo is taken, elephants are smaller and usually have pinkish, non-pigmented patches on at least the forehead, trunk, and ears. The elephant on the right has unusually little pigment - this colour is what sometimes is called a "white" elephant. |
