Asian elephant
Elephas maximus
Animal facts
Amazingly, Asian elephants are more closely related to the extinct woolly mammoth than to the African elephant. The elephant’s tusks are elongated teeth (upper incisors) and tend to be smaller in Asian bull elephants than in the African. The four grinding teeth (molars) wear out and are replaced by new teeth from the back of the jaws; the elephant gets through six sets of teeth during its lifetime.
The Asian elepant is an EDGE species. Find out about the EDGE conservation programme for Asian elephants here
Where they live
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam
Habitat
Mountains and forest
What they eat
Vegetation, fruit, twigs, small branches, bark and roots
IUCN status
Endangered
