What is the Largest Endangered Land Animal?
Asian elephants, or elephas maximus, are the largest endangered land-based animal. Adult Asian elephants commonly weigh anywhere between 4,490 and 11,000 pounds, with the average height between 7 and 12 feet. The animals first were added to the endangered species list in 1976; since then, the number of Asian elephants has dwindled to approximately 44,000 (1).
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Geography
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Due to deforestation, Asian elephants live in pockets of forests scattered throughout Asia. There are Asian elephants in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia.
Diet
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Asian elephants are herbivores and ingest plants, grass, fruits, leaves, and occasionally twigs and bark. The elephants, which use their trunks to place food in their mouths, can eat up to 300 pounds of food a day.
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Asian vs. African Elephants
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Asian elephants differ from African elephants in a variety of ways. Asian elephants are slightly smaller in size and weight. The tip of their trunks only has one digit, whereas African elephants have two. The ears of an Asian elephant are about three times smaller and have a rounder shape. Populations of Asian elephants are much smaller than that of African elephants.
Lifespan & Family Life
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Adult males often wander alone or in small groups, while the females live in family herds and raise the young. Typically, the males and females will only cohabitate for mating.
Elephants have the longest gestation period on the planet. A newborn can take up to 22 months from conception to delivery, and the average weight of a newborn is 300 pounds (2). Elephants can live up to 70 years.
Cause for Endangerment
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The largest threat to Asian elephants is deforestation. Asian elephants require a great deal of food to live as well as a permanent water source. War, logging, new human settlements and agricultural development have continually threatened the Asian elephant's population.
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