Asian Elephant
（Elephas maximus）
Habitat: tropical forests and prairies.
Feeding habits: curling its flexible trunk to get food. Food: young leaves of all vegetation.
Size: with a body length of 5.5-6.4 m, a tail length of 1.2-1.5 m, and a height of 2.4-3 m; weight: 5000 kg. Habits: dozens of them act in groups and hang around in forests to seek for food. They communicate with one another through infrasound, which could not be heard by mankind but can travel tens of kilometers. Elephants are the largest land animals and they have no natural enemies except human beings. After being trained, elephants can cut woods, transport goods, and drag carts; they can also be ridden by man or give performances. In ancient times, elephants were also trained to fight in battles. Asian elephants have a pregnant period of 600-640 days and they produce one baby each time. Elephants are sexually mature at the age of 8-12 and their average life span is 50-65 years. When raised by human beings, some elephants were recorded to live more than 80 years.
Category: mammalia,
Proboscidea, elephant.
Distribution: South Yunnan.
Level of protection: Class I key protection animal of China.
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