Wildlife Alliance

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

Status: Endangered

Habitat Range:

The Asian Elephant is found in tropical forests and grasslands in China, India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, and parts of Indonesia. Generally, they reside on the edges of tropical forests where open, grassy areas are accessible.

Numbers Left in the Wild: 25,600-42,000

Primary Threats:

The advancement of agriculture, the destruction of tropical forests, and the encroachment of humans pose the greatest threats to their survival. Human crop farms built on traditional elephant migration routes are often trampled and eaten causing elephants to be killed in the the ensuing conflicts. Poaching elephants for their ivory, meat, skin, teeth, feet, penis, and bones also poses a severe threat.

What we are doing to help:

• Protecting the South West Elephant Corridor (SWEC) in the Cardamom Mountain Range, one of the last remaining Asian elephant corridors in Southeast Asia today.
  
  
• Rescuing and rehabilitating elephants when appropriate at our renowned Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC) in Cambodia by way of our Care for Rescued Wildlife (CRW) project.
  
  
• The Kouprey Express mobile education unit engages Cambodian villagers and schoolchildren on key issues like resolving conflicts between humans and elephants without violence.