Asian Elephant
Elephas maximus
🐘
Chordata
Mammalia
Proboscidea
Elephantidae
Elephas
Elephas maximus
The Gentle Giant of Asia, the Asian Elephant is an intelligent, highly social herbivore revered across cultures. Once ranging widely from Syria to China, Elephas maximus now survives only in fragmented populations across South and Southeast Asia. Ancient humans hunted and later domesticated this species, shaping millennia of human–elephant coexistence.
Description
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) — The Asian Elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia, distinguished from its African relatives by smaller ears, a twin-domed head, and one “finger” at the tip of its trunk. Females are smaller and lack tusks, while males’ tusks rarely exceed 1.5 meters. Adult males stand about 2.5–3.5 meters at the shoulder, reach 6–6.5 meters in length, and weigh between 3,000–5,400 kilograms. Asian Elephants inhabit forests and grasslands, shaping ecosystems by dispersing seeds and creating clearings. Their populations have declined severely due to habitat loss and poaching.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
3100
2.7
4.05
5.5
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Grazers
Hunt History
Prehistoric humans across South and Southeast Asia hunted elephants for meat, hides, and ivory. By the Neolithic period, humans began taming elephants, transforming them into beasts of burden, war animals, and symbols of royalty. Ancient Indus Valley and early Chinese civilizations documented elephant domestication and ivory craftsmanship.
Earliest Archaeological Evidence of Human Predation:
Sangiran Site, Java (1.5 million BP) — Fossil evidence of Elephas bones with tool marks indicates early hominin scavenging or hunting.
Narmada Valley, India (250,000 BP) — Acheulean stone tools found alongside elephant bones suggest organized hunting or butchery.
Godavari Basin, India (40,000 BP) — Cut-marked bones of E. maximus confirm Late Pleistocene human predation.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Regionally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
10000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Asia
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
8
Est. Renderable Fat
248
kg
Targeted Organs
Marrow, brain, visceral fat
Adipose Depots
Visceral (perirenal/mesenteric), limited subcutaneous; marrow, brain lipids
Preferred Cuts
Long-bone marrow & braincase
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
5