The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living Elephas species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living elephantid in the world. It is characterised by its long trunk with a single finger-like processing; large tusks in males; laterally folded large ears and wrinkled grey skin that is partly depigmented on the trunk, ears or neck. Adult males average 4 tons (4.4 short tons) in weight and females 2.7 tons (3.0 short tons). It has a large and well developed neocortex of the brain, is highly intelligent and self-aware being able to display behaviours associated with grief, learning and greeting. 3 (or possibly 4) subspecies are recognized: the Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus), Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus), and Borneo elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis). Several proposed extinct subspecies (now considered synonymous with the Indian elephant) include the
Syrian elephant (Elephas maximus asurus),
Chinese elephant (Elephas maximus rubridens), and Javan elephant (Elephas maximus sondaicus).
Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 per cent over the last three elephant generations, which is about 60–75 years. It is primarily threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching. The earliest indications of captive use of Asian elephants are engravings on seals of the Indus Valley civilization dated to the 3rd millennium BC.
History[]
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom[]
John Hammond and Benjamin Lockwood first cloned baby elephants in the basement lab of Lockwood Manor before moving on to dinosaur DNA.
Games[]
Jurassic World: Alive[]
The primary mention of Asian elephants in Jurassic World: Alive is in the in-game database and flavor text, where they are cited as the closest living relatives of the extinct woolly mammoth. The genetic material of the Asian elephant is noted as the foundation upon which de-extinction is based. InGen likely uses their DNA to fill the genetic gaps required to clone extinct proboscideans like the mammoth and to create hybrid creatures.
