25-3-2025 YALA NAT PARK, SRI LANKA - ASIAN ELEPHANT (Elephas maximus)

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is a species of elephant distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west to Borneo in the east, and Nepal in the north to Sumatra in the south. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus, E. m. indicus and E. m. sumatranus. The Asian elephant is characterised by its long trunk with a single finger-like processing; large tusks in males; laterally folded large ears but smaller in contrast to African elephants; and wrinkled grey skin. The skin is smoother than African elephants and may be depigmented on the trunk, ears or neck. Adult males average 4 tonnes (4.4 short tons) in weight, and females 2.7 t (3.0 short tons).

In general, the Asian elephant is smaller than the African bush elephant and has the highest body point on the head. The distinctive trunk of these animals is an elongation of the nose and upper lip combined; the nostrils are at its tip, which has one finger-like process. The trunk contains as many as 60,000 muscles, which consist of longitudinal and radiating sets. Elephants use their trunks for breathing, watering, feeding, touching, dusting, sound production and communication, washing, pinching, grasping, defence and offence. 

Tusks serve to dig for water, salt, and rocks, to debark and uproot trees, as levers for maneuvering fallen trees and branches, for work, for display, for marking trees, as a weapon for offence and defence, as trunk-rests, and as protection for the trunk. Elephants are known to be right or left tusked. Skin colour of Asian elephants is usually grey, and may be masked by soil because of dusting and wallowing. Their wrinkled skin is movable and contains many nerve centres. It is smoother than that of African elephants and may be depigmented on the trunk, ears, or neck. The epidermis and dermis of the body average 18 mm (0.71 in) thick; skin on the dorsum is 30 mm (1.2 in) thick providing protection against bites, bumps, and adverse weather. Its folds increase surface area for heat dissipation. They can tolerate cold better than excessive heat.