| Class
|
Mammalia +
|
| Common hindi name
|
हाथी Haathi +
|
| Common name
|
Indian Elephant, Asian Elephant +
|
| Conservation management details
|
The Asian elephant is protected from inter … The Asian elephant is protected from international trade by its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), although illegal poaching remains a problem (3). Many elephants occur within protected reserves but these are often too small to accommodate them, leading to human-elephant conflict (3). The creation of wildlife corridors to extend reserve lands, together with the cessation of poaching are just some of the conservation steps needed to secure the future of the Asian elephant (7). The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched the Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS) in 1998 to address these issues, and this multifaceted conservation programme is also working with local people to reduce conflict with these magnificent animals.e conflict with these magnificent animals. +
|
| Conservation threats details
|
Numbers of Asian elephants were decimated … Numbers of Asian elephants were decimated by habitat loss and hunting throughout their historical range. Vast tracts of land have been logged or simply cleared to accommodate the growing human population in the region. Elephant populations have become increasingly isolated in the fragmented habitat that remains, often coming into conflict with local farmers. Crops are damaged and lives lost; up to 300 people a year are killed by elephants in India, leading to retaliation on local elephants. Poaching for ivory is also a threat and because only males have tusks, populations can become extremely skewed towards females, thus affecting breeding rates.ds females, thus affecting breeding rates. +
|
| Cultural significance
|
Yes +
|
| Cultural use details
|
Elephants have been considered sacred in I … Elephants have been considered sacred in Indian culture. The head of Lord Ganesha, the God of wisdom, is that of an elephant. As the mythological story goes, Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva was alone at home and wanted to have a bath. To guard the entrance, Parvati created a human child - Ganesha - out of the earth and asked him to guard the entrance while she took a bath. While Parvati was bathing, Lord Shiva came to the scene and wanted to enter the house. However Ganesha blocked him from entering saying that it was his mother's orders not to allow anyone inside. Enraged, Lord Shiva cut off Ganesha's head and entered the house. Parvati, upon learning this, was overcome with grief. Upon learning that Ganesha was his own son, Lord Shiva felt sad too. Parvati then asked Lord Shiva to go down the Himalayas (their abode), cut off the head of the first animal he sees and splice it onto the headless body of Ganesha. The first animal Lord Shiva found was an elephant and that is how Lord Ganesha came to have the elephant's head and thus, infinite wisdom.
The elephant plays an important part in the culture of the subcontinent and beyond, featuring prominently in Jataka tales and the Panchatantra. Elephants have also been used traditionally as vehicles for royalty - kings, emperors and monarchs. They were used in battles by almost all armies in India, since pre-historic times. Elephants are used in cultural festivals such as temple processions in Kerala.vals such as temple processions in Kerala. +
|
| Division/Phylum
|
Chordata +
|
| Family
|
Elephantidae +
|
| Genus
|
Elephas +
|
| Header caption
|
An elephant ornately decorated for a religious occasion at the temple in South India +
|
| Header image
|
BigTemple_Elephant.JPG +
|
| IUCN status
|
Endangered +
|
| Introdescription
|
The Asian or Asiatic Elephant (''Elephas m … The Asian or Asiatic Elephant (''Elephas maximus''), sometimes known by the name of one of its subspecies, the Indian Elephant, is one of the three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus ''Elephas''. It is the largest living land animal in Asia. The species is found primarily in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and parts of Nepal and Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Bhutan, and Sumatra. It is considered endangered due to habitat loss and poaching, with between 41,410 and 52,345 elephants left in the wild. Asian elephants are rather long-lived, with a maximum recorded life span of 86 years. This animal is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in South and Southeast Asia for centuries and also in ceremonial purposes. Historical sources indicate that they were sometimes used during the harvest season primarily for milling. Wild elephants attract tourist money to the areas where they can most readily be seen, but damage crops, and may enter villages to raid gardens. (Source:Wikipedia)llages to raid gardens. (Source:Wikipedia) +
|
| Order
|
Proboscidea +
|
| Page creation date
|
2 February 2011 +
|
| Regnum
|
Animalia +
|
| Religious occasion
|
Temple processions +
|
| Species name
|
Elephas maximus +
|
| User ID
|
User:Gauravm +
|
| Has queryThis property is a special property in this wiki.
|
Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
, Elephas maximus +
|
| Categories |
Mammals +
, Species page +
|
| Modification dateThis property is a special property in this wiki.
|
2 February 2011 20:26:43 +
|
