Asian elephant
The Asian elephant is the third elephant species that still lives in the wild.
There are four subspecies of the Asian elephant which are the Indian elephant the Sumatran elephant, the Borneon elephant and the sri lankan elephant. While the elephant species of Asia are considered one species, many have been split for quite some time.
- Indian elephant – the Indian elephant has a current estimated elephant population of 20,000-25,000 (from last year). This is down from a population of 40,000-50,000 just 20 years ago. These are spread across 33 reserves in India, spread across 14 states. Cambodia, China, Laos Malaysia Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. There is enough space for this number to grow significantly if only allowed the space.
- Sri lankan elephant – 2100-3000. It is the largest subspecies, and most are easily picked out, given the fact that they have areas of their skin without coloration. There is significant conflict, which really requires a change in how to manage them – conflict is not only bad for the elephants, but also for the people. Wild elephants are also worth a great deal in tourism, and if managed well it can raise the living standards of those who live nearby.
- Sumatran elephant – 2400-2800 remain, with around 25 scattered fragmented habitats remain. Over 69% of the Sumatran elephant habitat has been lost in the last 25 years.
- Bornean Elephant – around 1500 remain in the wild, and are generally called pygmy elephants. They have lost 60% of their range in the last 40 years.
As we connect with people, destinations will appear below (above the news)
In terms of news articles, I have put it in separately. The first news is to do with Indian elephants, then Sri Lankan elephants, then Borneon Elephants, then Sumatran elephants.
As we add links, to see each species we will list these at the bottom of the page. It is also possible that each of these subspecies will have to be split up onto separate pages in the future. These subspecies are often endangered, and the biggest difference that we can make, is to show the people who live alongside these animals, that they are worth money. The easiest way to do this is through tourism. As these links grow, we will separate out the subspecies.
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