When we discuss the problems facing elephants it is common to think of the more well known African Elephant. However, Asian Elephants are also in need of our help and face their own similar and different problems to their African counterparts.

Elephants are unfortunately not as prevalent in the wild as they are in our conversations about wildlife. Most often when we discuss elephants and animal conservation we think of African elephants and how their endangerment is primarily due to poaching. These creatures aren’t the only endangered elephants however. Asian elephants are a far less plentiful species that are also endangered due to some similar circumstances as their African counterparts and the unique challenges they face.

Asian elephants populate an area including portions of India and Southeast Asia and mostly inhabit tropical forests in segmented groups. This shows the first problem Asian elephants face, habitat loss. Human expansion throughout Asia has significantly limited and divided the habitat of Asian elephants. Infrastructure such as roads, farmland, and settlements are dividing and reducing the areas in which these animals can inhabit. This issue has forced their population to decline due to limited space and access to food.

The aforementioned problems regarding habitat have led to conflict between elephants and humans that can equate to either party being hurt or even killed. Due to their shrinking habitat, Asian elephants often find themselves wandering through people’s land or even forced to scavenge for food from farms. At times, this leads some people to kill these animals to preserve their cops and livelihoods. These scenarios are extremely unfortunate and in many cases are not born from any malicious intent, but rather a case where both elephant and human are put at odds due to larger issues beyond their immediate control.

Asian elephants also face some of the same problems African elephants face, namely being poached for their ivory. Asian elephants have less ivory than African ones do, due to their less frequently occurring and smaller tusks, but they are poached for the amount they do have nonetheless. While this poaching is on a smaller scale, it still greatly affects their population as there are already ten times less Asian elephants in the wild than African elephants.

The challenges facing these magnificent creatures may seem daunting , and make no mistake they are, but this does not mean that hope is lost. Now more than ever there is more motivation and action to stop the illegal wildlife trade and protect our endangered species. Organizations such as the WWF are finding solutions to human-wildlife conflict that can protect and benefit both parties, for example planting crops that can be sold for profit while also not attracting animals like elephants. While it is true that as time passes and humans expand conflict with animals will occur, it is also important to remember our knowledge and ability to handle this situations in a mutually beneficial way is only improving.

Image Credit: Aardwolf6886