Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus & Species: Elephas maximus maximus
APPEARANCE
The Ceylon elephant is a subspecies of the Asian elephant. The only
distinguishable feature of this elephant is its enlarged size. It can grow to be
11 ft. 6 in. in shoulder height and can weigh up to 5 tons. It can grow to be
21 ft. in length with a tail length of 4-6 ft. The females are smaller than the
males. Only the males have tusks, and even that is rare. The skin can vary
in colour from different shades of dark grey to dark brown. Mature males
have a pinkish colour around their ears, face and trunk. Both males and
females have large bulges on their heads although the ones on the females
are smaller. Their bodies are sparsely covered in hair. The males have
well-rounded backs and the females have square backs. The trunk can weigh
from 275-440 pounds. They have a life expectancy of 55-60 years.
HABITAT
The Ceylon elephant lives in the mountain forests, open savannas,
grasslands, and marshes of the island of Sri Lanka. The are found in
national parks and the eastern and northeastern areas of the island.
FOOD
The Ceylon elephant's main diet is grass, although it also eats fruit, tender
branches, and climbing herbaceous plants. It will not eat the woody parts,
unlike the African elephant. Water is indespensable to them. They will eat
220-330 pounds of food and drink 20-40 gallons of water daily. 45% of the
food they eat is passes through undigested so they must eat constantly.
ENEMIES
As with all elephants, the Ceylon elephant's main enemy is man. The
island's natives hunted the elephants for their tusks or for domestic
purposes and also cut down the trees that made up their homeland. At the
turn of the century there were 10000 elephants on Sri Lanka. Today there
are only 2500-3000 left in the wild, with 500 more remaining in captivity.
There are a number of sizeable herds left on wildlife preserves although it is
hard to tell if they are purebred due to crossbreeding with imported
elephants.
BREEDING
Sexual maturity is reached between 8 and 12 years. The gestation period is
18-20 months. The calves weigh 175-200 pounds at birth. The females give
birth to one calf every 4-6 years and can give birth to 7 calve in her lifetime.
RELATIVES
There are three other subspecies of the Asian elephant besides the Ceylon:
the Indian, Malaysian, and Sumatran elephants. They are all related to the
African elephant.
RESOURCES CITED
1. Animal Card "Ceylon Elephant", Italy
2. www.geocities.com/RainForest/8298/
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