Sri Lankan elephant

The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is a special kind of elephant that lives in Sri Lanka. It is one of three types of Asian elephants and was first described by a scientist named Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Today, most Sri Lankan elephants are found in dry areas in the north, east, and southeast parts of the country.

These elephants can be seen in places like Udawalawe National Park, Yala National Park, Lunugamvehera National Park, Wilpattu National Park, and Minneriya National Park, but they also live outside these protected areas. Sri Lanka has one of the highest numbers of elephants in Asia. However, elephants sometimes come into conflict with people because their homes are being changed into places where people live and grow food.

Characteristics

The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest type of Asian elephant, growing between 2 and 3.5 meters tall at the shoulder and weighing from 2,000 to 5,500 kilograms. It has darker skin than other Asian elephants, with noticeable lighter patches on its ears, face, trunk, and belly. Most males do not have tusks, but about 7% have tusks that can grow up to 1.8 meters long and weigh up to 35 kilograms.

Females are usually smaller than males. In July 2013, a smaller-than-usual Sri Lankan elephant was seen in Udawalawe National Park. This elephant stood over 1.5 meters tall but had shorter legs than typical elephants.

Distribution and habitat

Sri Lankan elephants mainly live in the dry lowlands of Sri Lanka, especially in the north, south, east, north-western, north-central, and south-eastern parts of the island. A small group can still be found in the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary. These elephants do not live in the wet zones of the country. Besides Wilpattu and Ruhuna National Parks, most other protected areas are smaller than 1,000 km². Many of these areas are even smaller than 50 km², which is too small for elephants to live comfortably. In the Mahaweli Development Area, several protected places like Wasgomuwa National Park, Flood Plains National Park, and Somawathiya National Park are connected, creating a larger space for elephants. However, about 65% of where elephants live is outside these protected areas.

Former range

In the past, Sri Lankan elephants lived everywhere from the sea level up to the high mountains. They were found in dry zones, low wet zones, and cold, damp forests. During the colonial period from 1505 to 1948, the wet zone was turned into farms and became full of people. Until 1830, the government encouraged people to kill elephants and even paid rewards for doing so. In the 1800s, forests in the mountains were cut down to grow coffee and later tea. This led to elephants disappearing from the mountains. During British rule, many male elephants were killed by hunters for sport. By the early 1900s, elephants were still found across much of the island. Large water storage areas were built in the dry zone for farming, which split up elephant habitats and made it harder for them to find space.

Population trend

The number of wild Sri Lankan elephants is thought to have dropped by about 21% in birth rates since around 2012. Male elephants are now being born less often than female elephants.

Behaviour and ecology

Sri Lankan elephants talk, make sounds, and use smells to talk to each other. They have many different sounds, including some very low sounds that we can't hear well.

These elephants eat a lot — up to 150 kilograms of plants each day! They like to eat many kinds of plants. In one area, scientists watched them eat 116 different plants. Most of these plants were not trees, but smaller plants like bushes, grasses, and vines. They also sometimes eat plants that people grow for food, even when they are not taking crops from farms.

Elephants like to live in places where forests are growing back, but there aren't as many plants in older forests. When people cut down forests and then leave the land empty, it can actually help elephants find more food.

Threats

Main article: Human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka

During the Sri Lankan Civil War, Sri Lankan elephants were hurt or lost their lives because of land mines. Many elephants were injured or died from these land mines, and some were hurt by stepping on them.

Today, the biggest danger to these elephants comes from people needing more space for homes and farms. As more land is used for farming and buildings, elephants lose their natural homes and often go near human areas, looking for food. This leads to many elephants being hurt or dying each year.

Another serious problem is plastic consumption. Over the years, many elephants have died after eating plastic waste. This happens because they have less space to live and are forced to go near places where people live, where they find plastic and other human rubbish. This not only harms elephants but also other animals in the area.

Conservation

Elephas maximus is listed on CITES Appendix I.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation works to protect elephants in many places where they can live safely. This includes both protected areas and other lands where people agree to let elephants stay.

In the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Kegalle, injured elephants get care, and baby elephants without parents are looked after. About 70 elephants live there, and some baby elephants are being raised to help increase the population.

The Udawalawe Elephant Transit Centre in Udawalawe National Park is a special place where baby elephants stay until they are old enough to live on their own in the wild.

Culture and symbolism

Elephants have been important symbols in Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils culture for over two thousand years, even during British colonial times. The old coat of arms and flag of Ceylon Government used an elephant, and many places still use the Sri Lankan elephant in their designs today. Elephants have been part of important traditions and ceremonies for a very long time, especially in big Buddhist temples and Hindu Temples.

People in Sri Lanka have used elephants for work and in battles for many years. Later, they were caught from the wild for jobs and special events. This practice stopped in 1950. Today, fewer elephants are used for work because machines have taken over many tasks. However, elephants are still used in places where vehicles cannot go and for tourism. Owning an elephant is still seen as something special by the Sinhalese. In 2021, new laws were made about how to care for elephants that are kept by people.