oliphants.
Oliphants comprise one of two surviving genera in the order Proboscidea. Often referred to as the Asian Elephant, the Oliphant is distinguished from the Loxodont, or African Elephant, by its smaller, lower ears. Male oliphants grow tusks; male loxodonts don’t.
The most common elephant in the world, it is an endangered species. Oliphants are threatened by habitat loss and degradation driven by an expanding human settlements; between 2004 and 2008, ten were reported killed by trains.
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oliphant.
4 | Indian Oliphant
What we typically think of when we think of the Asian Elephant, it survives in separate ranges in southern India, the Himalayan foothills, northwest India, southern China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Malaysian peninsula. Most males of this subspecies have tusks.
oliphant.
5 | Sri Lankan Oliphant
This is the largest and overall darkest of four subspecies; however, patches of depigmentation may be found on the face, ears, trunk, and belly. The herds, of one to two dozen, are commonly led by the oldest female. The Sri Lankan Oliphant has a larger skull relative to body size. Between 1990 and 1994, 261 died from gunshot and land mines.
oliphant.
6 | Sumatran Oliphant
It is the second smallest of the subspecies, between 1.7 to 2.6 meters (5.5 to 8.5 feet) tall at the shoulder; it is sometimes called the “pocket elephant” because of its size. More than 70% of their potential habitat has been lost within the last 30 years.
oliphant.
7 | Borneo Oliphant
DNA evidence points to this oliphant as having become genetically different from other oliphants after wandering away from its cousins on the mainland 3,000 centuries ago. The smallest of the subspecies, Borneos have long tails that may touch the ground, larger ears, and straighter tusks. They are also remarkably tame. The population has declined by more than half over the last three generations.
oliphant.
8 | Vietnamese/Laotian Oliphant
The elephant population in Vietnam and Laos is currently undergoing mitochondrial DNA variation testing to determine whether it constitutes a fifth subspecies.
oliphant.
9 | Chinese Oliphant
The Chinese oliphant population is sometimes separated out subspecies-wise as E. m. rubridens (pink-tusked elephant). Formerly native to eastern China as far north as the Yellow River, this black-hided oliphant’s pink tusks purportedly were so sought after that it was hunted into total extinction by c.1500 BC.
oliphant.
10 | Syrian Oliphant
Syria, you had an elephant. Frequently mentioned in Hellenist histories, it went extinct around 100 BC. Hannibal had a war elephant known as Surus, suggested to mean “the Syrian.” It was said by Cato to have been Hannibal’s best and largest elephant.