Elephants (Elephas maximus)( family Elephantidae)

The Forest Department in Karnataka has launched an operation to capture trouble-causing wild elephants and fix radio collars on them.

• The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) weighs about 5,500 kg and has a shoulder height of up to 3.5 metres.
• The Asian elephant includes three subspecies: the Indian, or mainland (E. maximus indicus), the Sumatran (E. maximus sumatranus), and the Sri Lankan (E. maximus maximus).
• African elephants have much larger ears, which are used to dissipate body heat.
• Elephants are keystone species as well as the Natural Heritage Animal of India.
• India has the largest number of wild Asian Elephants. The elephant population in the country is estimated to be over 30,000.
• Karnataka has the highest elephant population in India.
• Conservation Status:
  • Convention of the Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix I
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species:
  • Asian Elephant: Endangered
  • African Forest Elephant: Critically Endangered
  • African Savanna Elephant: Endangered