The population of Indian elephants was counted in the year of 2003 and it was below the 30 000 mark. But still the Indian elephant population is the biggest in Asia.The basic information for this species tells us that the Indian elephant has very dexterous trunk equipped with 100 000 muscles with which the elephant can use its trunk for a variety of functions . The most visible part of the Elephas Maximus is its ears. There are very different from their African cousins because their ears are not exceeding the height of the neck. The Indian elephant has a very poor eye sigh reaching only to 10 m. but the interesting thing about the eye sigh is that it can improve in shady areas. The elephants do not have the usual canine teeth but they have special molars with a complex structure which helps the animal to grind its food more easily.
Today the highest concentration of Indian elephants (over 6 000) is found in the jungles of Myanmar. The Elephas Maximus needs very vast areas in which it can feed on especially when there are many animals and they form a horde.
Now the most heavy task is to preserved this species of Asian elephants. It is hard because the Indian elephants are breeding very slowly with only 4 offspring for 60 years. The Indian government give a hand in this elephant crisis but still methods such as indoor breeding are very expensive but the good thing is that there is a very low progress with the artificial insemination.Today in modern India the Elephas Maximus is still used as a national symbol in some temples and forest tourism departments but most importantly it stands as a symbol of the country.
