My Nepal- The heaven for Rhino

2007-12-24T01:52:00.000-08:00

The Asian Elephant is the largest of all
mammals in Nepal. The Asian elephant's shoulder height can measure from 2.5 to 3
meters, and it can weigh up to 5 metric tonnes. These very intelligent giants
have excellent memories and live as long as humans.

A huge concern for the Asian elephant in Nepal is the loss of
habitat. The environment in which these elephants reside is being threatened by
warfare, agricultural development and human settlement. Poaching is not such a
big threat to the Asian elephant as there are only few males that grow tusks,
whereas the female elephants do not grow tusks at all.

Elephants in general are very sociable. They typically live in
family groups. Communication plays a very important role in the lives of Asian
elephants. They use numerous sounds, scents and gentle touches to communicate
and strengthen family bonds. It is interesting to note that elephants frequently
communicate with sounds that people cannot hear, they are even able to do this
over long distances by producing low-pitched sounds that fall below the hearing
range of humans. The lower the pitch, the further the sound waves can travel
until they finally die off. An example of tactile communication is: when a young
Asian elephant is stressed and nervous it will go to an adult and place the tip
of its trunk in the adult’s mouth.

Elephants in Asia are used for transportation in log forests.
With heavy loads on their backs they walk in areas where machines are unable to
navigate. About 15,000 Asian elephants are held in captivity as work animals and
are also very important in Asian folklore and religion. They are believed to be
cousins of the clouds and able to cause lightening.

Conflicts between Asian elephants and humans often occur
because of crop damage. At times there is not enough food in small forests to
sustain elephants, so they look for the nearest supply, which is usually the
fields of local farmers. In Nepal the Asian Elephant Specialist Group estimates
that there are approximately 38,000 to 51,000 wild Asian elephants. The female
Asian elephants are capable of giving birth approximately every 4-6 years, bring
about 7 calves into the world during a lifetime.

These intelligent giants are marvelous to observe, especially
when you see how the trunk can be used for a wide array of tasks, from moving
heavy tree trunks to picking up objects the size of

My Nepal -The heaven

My Nepal- The heaven for Rhino