The Asian Elephant
The Asian elephant is smaller than its African cousin, but it carries a weight of its own: the fate of a species pinned between an exploding human population and a shrinking forest. With 48,000-61,000 remaining, Asian elephants occupy just 15% of their historical range — a shadow of the territory they once roamed.
Asian elephants are emotionally complex animals. They grieve their dead. They comfort each other in distress. Matriarchs carry memories of drought and plenty, guiding their herds to water and food in times of crisis. When a matriarch is killed — for her ivory, or in retaliation for crop raids — her family group can collapse.
In India alone, elephants and humans are in constant friction. Elephants raid crops. Humans build roads and railways through elephant corridors. Elephants are electrocuted on poorly insulated power lines. Trains collide with herds crossing tracks.
What's Killing the Asian Elephant?
Agriculture and development fragment forest
Retaliatory killings for crop raiding
Ivory and skin trade target elephants
What's Being Done?
How We Got Here
See the Asian Elephant in the Wild
Documentary: Asian Elephant
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