They browse more in the dry season with bark constituting a major part of their diet in the cool part of that season. Their diet in the dry season (February–April) contained a higher proportion of dicots compared to that of the wet season (June–September). Elephants are always close to a source of fresh water because they need to drink at least once a day. The Asian elephant once roamed from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in western Asia as far east as China's Yangtze River. More than two thirds of an elephants day may be spent feeding on grasses, but large amounts of tree bark, roots, leaves and small stems are also eaten. In addition, an average elephant drinks up to 40-50 gallons of water per day. Elephant sucks it up into its trunk and squirt it into its mouth. ( Log Out / From time to time, though, they send and receive messages from the herds over huge distances by means of high frequencies sounds, imperceptible to the human ear. The elephants of Africa are browsers, and eat mostly grasses, turning to leaves, twigs, bark, flowers, and fruits when the grasses are not available. Reliable source of drinking water is a mandatory life condition for elephant, since they drink no less than once a day. Diet of Elephant Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark and they eat a lot of them. It's one of the 3 subspecies of the Asian elephant. by University of Nottingham. Diet Asian elephants are herbivores, which means their diet consists only of plants. Their diet consists mainly of grass, vines, bark and leaves but extents to human cultivated crops and fruit which causes a high level of conflict between Asian Elephant and farmers. Diet. Otherwise, Asian elephants’ diet is very similar to their African cousins which features twigs, bark, leaves, and roots. Not only is the mother responsible for care and protection of a baby-elephant, but so are other females in the herd called aunties. There are estimates that elephants can consume 135 to 300 kg of fresh weight14. Asian Elephant on The IUCN Red List site -, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_elephant, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/7140/0. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. This in-depth article compares African vs Asian elephants, showing all the key differences and subtleties, as well as the best places to see them in the wild.. Of course African elephants are native to Africa and Asian elephants … In the dryer areas of Asia, elephants may rely on some bushes with thorns. Asian elephants can be classified as "mega-herbivores", as they are completely dependent on herbivory and consume up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of vegetation each day. 3. ( Log Out / The elephant trunk provides elephants the unique ability to reach and utilize a wide variety of vegetation16. A study by Joshi & Sing (2008) found that consumption of tree species was highest, followed by grasses and shrubs but proportions changed according to season availability7. They can spend more than two thirds of each day feeding on grasses. These elephants are very communicative mammals. In fact, up to 73% of species that were fed on were trees19. Both species of elephants eat a wide variety of plant matter found in their ranges, but there are differences in their diets. It contains calcium and roughage, which aids digestion. Asian Elephants are generalist mega-herbivores consuming a large variety of plants. They appear to be opportunistic, as their consumption varies based on location and what is seasonally available16. They drink at least once a day and are never far from a p… They use extremely low, ultrasound frequencies not perceptible for human ears. These equations show that East Indian Khino has more nutritional value than the Cormandel Ebony. All elephant species are herbivores, consuming only plant material. There was a negative correlation between availability of plants and preference by elephants… 82 % of the 311 dung samples examined were found to have at least one species of fruits19. The oldest female leads the group in its movement routes, searching for food and water source. But they also devour large amounts of bark, roots, leaves and stems. Asian elephants mate all year-round, without reference to a season of year. Indian Elephant has a varied feeder diet, and go after grasses, bamboo, leaves, bark, shoots, creepers and palms. However, elephant being a non-ruminant herbivore, both qualitative and quantitative presence of protein in the diet is important in its nutrition. Asian elephants are herbivores. Diet of the Asian Elephant. Nowadays Asian elephants are used mainly in touristic industry, transferring and entertaining tourists. Sixteen to eighteen hours, or nearly 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding. This means that elephants travel on most days to find clearings at the edge of forests where they spend hours gathering grasses with their trunks. They are fond of bananas! Asian Elephant tend to eat in the twilight periods and spend their days resting. They conjointly like seasonal selection sometimes like fig leaves and fruits, wood apple and mango. However, it’s not so easy for males: they are allowed to mate only when they are able to dominate other males in the area. The highest point of their body is on their head. The ICUN classifies the Asian elephant as Endangered with a decreasing population trend. They may consume up to 150kg (330lbs) of food each day. Elephants tend to rest and nap during the hottest hours of the day. Tree bark is a favorite food source for elephants. The Indian elephant is a nomadic animal, endemic to mainland Asia. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of around 14 years. Elephant diet includes: grasses, forbs, aquatic plants, leaves,twigs of shrubs and trees, fruits, bark, roots and bananas16. Asian elephants are largest terrestrial mammals of the continent while being smaller than African elephants. The plants that are most consumed are chosen according to their nutritive value and the proportions of the plant that are utilized by the elephant also varies11. Duration of their sleep is only 2 hours a day. They turn some areas of forests into meadows and disperse seeds. Studies on Asian elephants in the wild in southern India showed the browse intake during the wet season had a crude protein content of 13-20%. Supplement… Diet Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark—and they eat a lot of them. Their diet depends heavily on where they live, what is available, and what season it is. %NFE (DM) = 100 – (%EE (DM) + %ash (DM) + %CP(DM) + %CF (DM)), ME (kcal/kg DM) = 37 x % Protein + 81.8 x % Fat + 35.5 x % NFE, =( 37x (0.2125)+ 81.8(0.342)+ 3.5(0.4677)) x 10= 372 kcal/kg is the Metabolizable Energy. These animals are diurnal and crepuscular. In regions of cultivation, elephants will eat cocunuts, corn, legumes and much more15. Elephants can consume 1.5 -2% of their body weight in 12 hours of feeding16 and they can consume 1.7 mouthfuls per minute of grass during active phases of feeding14. Sometimes herds can break up into smaller subgroups. This appears to be related to seasonal changes in the mineral content of grasses 7. Asian elephants spend a large proportion of their day feeding, ranging from 40-75% of their day being spent on food consumption 14. Elephants eat between 149 and 169 kg (330-375 lb.) Asian elephants have a diverse diet including monocot and dicot plants. Fresh foliage is preferred by elephants but will consume twigs and bark when there is a need16. Elephants consume grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Evidently, the elephants were at the time used as fighting machine, being invaluable components of siege conduction. For the locals relying on cultivation for income, the elephants become a problem. Asian elephants consume the leaves of this tree. An interesting short documentary about Asian Elephants, where they live and what they eat. Elephants are herbivores, which means they eat plants. 1. Consumption of such large volumes of food is crucial to the survival of these elephants. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 2. This demonstrates how the region and available food source can alter what the dominant food source is eaten even for the same species (the African Elephant. ME =( 37x (0.05)+ 81.8(0.0116)+ 3.5(0.3296)) x 10= 143.3 kcal/kg. They eat and walk at dusk and down while being absolutely passive the daytime heat. Male Asian elephants, called bulls, become reproductive in their 20's and will fight another male for a fertile female elephant. A few months later young add grass to its daily diet meanwhile continuing to eat breast milk for up to 1.5 year. As the elephants walk through forests, they open broad pathways, which stop the spread of forest fire. They not only drink water: they swim, play in it and pour it on each other. Cultivated crops such as bananas and sugar cane are also a favored fo… Female Asian elephants are able to reproduce at about 10-12 years old. ( Log Out / Elephants generally eat: Leaves Shoots Roots Tree bark Fruits Twigs Bushes Shrubs etc. In Gabon, Africa, African Elephants living in the forest were observed to consume a large amount leaves and bark. In a single year, male elephants derived 9.3% and herds derived 1.3% of total food requirement through crop raiding15. Elephants are big vegetarians. 2. Cultivated crops such as bananas, rice and sugarcane are favorite foods. They can consume many types of plants, including twigs and bark. Asian elephants are both browsers (feeding on shrubs and trees during the dry season and after heavy rains) and grazers (feeding on grass during the first part of the wet season). They only get to eat 30kg of hay, 10kg of carrots or something similar and 5-10kg of bread. In zoos the Asian Elephants diet is COMPLETLY different. Moreover, before eating, they rind bananas as well as corns and other food. And new research suggests that the Asian elephant is a daintier eater -- preferring palms, grasses and bamboo to tree saplings. of vegetation daily. Crop raiding is also a common practice among elephants. During the dry season the crude protein was 6-18%. Sometimes instead of drinking the water they play in it and wash themselves. Even after weaning, the mother keeps on caring for and protecting the young. Elephants need to eat an average of 150 kg per day to survive. Diet : A deft trunk plus huge, rasping molars enable Asian elephants to collect plus method a large sort of vegetation, as well as grasses plus herbs, leaves, fruit, farm crops, plus bark. However, African Elephants observed in the African Savannah consumed a large proportion of fruit19. They feed on a variety of plants, including fruit, grasses, tree bark, vegetables and palm leaves. They are classified as megaherbivores and consume up to 150 kg (330 lb) of plant matter per day. Now a highly endangered species, it has been eliminated from western Asia completely, from substantial parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and almost entirely from China. East Indian Kino (Pterocarpus marsupium)11. Asian elephant is also included in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). Asian elephants are herbivores and spend about three-quarters of each day eating or moving toward a food or water source. Due to their huge size and ability of obeying orders, they proved to be indispensable in transportation of heavy objects such as timber materials. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. You can help The Sanctuary feed an elephant for a day with a donation of $50. Some common foods include grasses, palms, legumes, flowers, fruits, roots, bamboo, and more. Their habitat includes plains, tropical forests, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, wet and dry deciduous forests, prickly forests as well as cultivating lands. In contrasts, a study by Sukumar (1990) observed that elephants ate 112 species in southern India15.A diverse diet is also evident in African Elephants, as a study in Gabon found them to eat a minimum of 307 items over the observation period of the study19. And we use other sources of nutrition information, as well. Under favorable conditions, a female can give birth once every 3-4 years. A similar diet is observed in African elephants. Grasses make up most of an elephant’s daily diet. A big difference between Asian and African elephants is diet. Asian elephants are herbivores (folivores), feeding upon plants. Asian elephant. Gestation period lasts quite long, 18-22 months, after which a single baby is born. They feed primarily on grasses but also consume large amounts of browse, including leaves, roots, vines, twigs, shoots and bark, as well as fruit. Asian Elephants need water every day because they travel all the time. There is no seasonality in their reproduction. Major components of their usual diet are grasses, leaves, roots, bark of trees and bushes. Below is a breakdown of the nutritional value of two plant species eaten by Asian elephants. They sing when they want to keep the heard together and looking for mates. They tend to maintain a predominantly browse diet throughout the year but switch to a predominantly grass diet in the wet season7. Indian Elephants are terribly sociable animals and march from forest to forest, rarely staying in one for over some days. Anecdotal evidence reports elephants fond of alcohol; reports of raiding illicit liquor stores in the forest (Sukamar 89) Adults eat approx. The results reveal that obesity is not to blame for lower birth rates among Asian elephants in captivity. Moreover, cases have been known, when elephants excavated holes in dry riverbeds to get water for other species. Are you fitter or fatter than an elephant? Hunting for ivory continues to this day, being a notable threat to overall population of Asian elephant. Asian elephant lives over the vast territory, covering Hindustan and Indochina peninsulas, Borneo Island and, generally, most of south-eastern Asia. Unbeknown to most, there are actually three different elephant species. Asian elephants consume the root of this tree. If listed by countries, on the first place is India with 26.390-30.770 individuals around the country. Their diet depends on what’s available in their habitat in a given season.Using our knowledge of wild elephants, we provide our Asian elephants at the Saint Louis Zoo with a well-balanced diet. In fact, the average male elephant carries slightly less fat (8.5%) than females (around 10%). Over 100 species of … Other countries with comparably large population of Asian elephants are: Indonesia (2400-3400), Thailand (2500-3200), Malaysia (2100-3100), Laos (500-1000), Cambodia (250-600), Bhutan (250-500), China (200-250), Bangladesh (150-250), Vietnam (70-150) and Nepal (100-125). Major components of their usual diet are grasses, leaves, roots, bark of trees and bushes. No longer. This phenomenon is observed more amongst males and increases as cultivation increases with the wet season. … In the wild: Asian elephants are herbivores who eat a wide variety of plants including grasses, bamboo, sugarcane, flowers, fruit, seeds, grains, and the roots and bark of trees. 150kg (330 lbs) daily; approximately 1.5 – 2% (dry weight) of body weight Salt needed in diet; migrate to deposits regularly and excavate with tusks if necessary Asians are grazers and consume a similar range of plants, including large amounts of bamboo. Threats have to do mainly with human activity. Grasslands are plentiful for the Asian elephants, and they take advantage of it by eating a variety of grasses, woody plants, or trees. The elephants spend most of the day (16 hours) eating. Feeding is not continuous, with three principal feeding bouts in the early morning, afternoon and night. Unlike most of animals, elephant uses its trunks to drink water. Along with the above mentioned, Asian elephants have been object of decoration at official ceremonies for swell society. In comparison, researchers find the average human carries between six and 31 percent body fat. African forest elephants are browser-frugivores and eat leaves, fruits, seeds, branches, and bark. Change ), http://elephantsandbees.com/crop-raiding-behaviour/, https://www.flickr.com/photos/dinesh_valke/2396198302/. Credit: MEME New research has shown … Water is an important component of elephants’ lives. They eat a wide variety of different plants and plant parts. They appear to be opportunistic, as their consumption varies based on location and what is seasonally available 16. IUCN says official estimated population number of Asian elephant is currently 41.410-52.345 individuals. Indian elephants travel constantly, staying in one place for less than a few days. Diet . They are polygynous, meaning that a male can mate with multiple females. 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