Asian Elephant

Description:

This large male (photos 1&2) was way off in the distance when we stopped to watch him on the open jeep in Yala then he kept coming closer and closer almost as if he was coming straight for us, we kept expecting the jeep driver to start the engine but he didnt and this beautiful elephant just strolled right past the back of the jeep so near we could have reached out to touch him! The photos 3-5 are of bath time at Pinnawela at the sanctuary there. in general, the Asian elephant is smaller than the African elephant and has the highest body point on the head. The back is convex or level. The ears are small with dorsal borders folded laterally. It has up to 20 pairs of ribs and 34 caudal vertebrae. The feet have more nail-like structures than those of African elephants — five on each forefoot, and four on each hind foot

Habitat:

The Asian or Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.