Image Source:  Asian Elephant | Species | WWF

Asian elephants have a body length of 5.5 to 6.4 m, a shoulder height of 2.5 to 3 m, and a weight of 3 to 5 tons. It is smaller than the African elephant. The ivory of the male is long, about 2.4 m, but the female, unlike the female of the African elephant, does not have ivory. The teeth are unusual in shape, very large and few in number. The ears are smaller than those of African elephants, and there is one finger-like protrusion at the tip of the nose. The forehead is hollow in the center and both sides protrude in a circle, and there are five claws on the front paws and four claws on the hind paws. The skin is thick and dry, and the fur is hard but few. Body-color varies from gray to brown.

Asian elephants were formerly widely distributed from western Asia to the Indian subcontinent along the coast of Iran, east to Southeast Asia, including Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, and at least to China as far as the Yangtze River. However, it is now extinct in Western Asia, Java, and most of China.

It has been listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List since 1986 and is also on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora List, a list of animals that should immediately cease trade in related commodities. It is estimated that 50% of the population has disappeared in 60-75 years due to habitat destruction, climate change and poaching.

Asian elephants play a uniquely important role in our ecosystem as the "gigantic gardeners of the forest" where they grow and maintain. Numerous species, including humans, depend for survival. Forests are the lungs of the planet, fixing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. We risk destroying them and this exacerbates the situation of the endangered Asian elephant.

Asian elephants in Myanmar are now at risk of poaching for their skins and body parts, regardless of age. Elephant poaching rates have so far been above average since January 2017, and Myanmar, home to more than 2,000 wild Asian elephants, needs immediate action to protect them. 

Nilanga Jayasinghe, director of WWF's Asian Species Program, said, "Asian elephants are already under great threat. In addition, indiscriminate poaching of elephants to obtain elephant skins in Myanmar continues to be discovered. This is a very worrisome situation and immediate protective action must be taken."

Related article: https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/elephant-tourism-those-who-profit-from-cruel-holiday-entertainment-should-face-prison-duncan-mcnair-3329167

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