Three Threats That Made Indian Elephants Endangered

Since 1986, Indian elephants, a subspecies of Asian elephants, have been listed as threatened.

Three main threats account for the Indian elephant's plight, according to a report by sustainability expert and Treehugger writer, Katherine Gallagher.

The Indian elephant has the largest range and makes up the majority of the remaining elephants on the Asian continent, whereas the Sumatran elephant and Sri Lankan elephant are restricted to the lowland forests of Sumatra and the dry zones of Sri Lanka, respectively.

Some experts believed that the Bornean elephant, which can only be found on the island of Borneo, belongs to a fourth subspecies of Asian elephants.

Only 20,000 to 25,000 wild Indian elephants are thought to still exist today, and the overall population is thought to be declining.

The main threats to the remaining numbers of Indian elephants are loss of habitat, degradation, and fragmentation.

The subspecies are also more susceptible to problems with human conflict and unauthorized poaching.

Threat No. 1: Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

The biggest threat to Indian elephants, according to most experts, is habitat loss.

The main factors causing this habitat loss are recent economic growth and the ensuing increase in development in Asia.

Many activities can obstruct migratory elephant routes and force them into smaller subpopulations, from growing human populations and mining to turning land into plantations and linear infrastructure.

Animals that are confined to smaller areas of populations run the risk of losing genetic diversity and are more likely to perish from disease and calamities.

Over the past 60 years, elephant populations in India have decreased by 70%.

Scientists estimated that by 2070, the country's elephant population could have lost more than 40% of its habitat due to climate change.

Threat No. 2: Human-Elephant Conflict

Elephant-human interactions are increasing as human settlements and development encroach on elephants' natural habitats.

Elephant populations frequently stray into agricultural lands in search of food, especially those living outside of protected areas, resulting in damage to crops or other property.

Even worse, if farmers and locals feel their property is at risk as a result of these effects, they might turn on the elephants in retaliation.

Other deadly techniques, such as poison, have been used.

Read also: Climate Change is Pushing Gentle Elephants to Turn Hostile and Attack Humans 

Threat No. 3: Illegal Capture

Indian elephants were once hunted down in the wild and used for logging, most notably in Thailand.

The country's 1989 official ban on logging resulted in the unemployment of thousands of domesticated elephants and their owners.

They eventually entered the tourism business, which offered things like elephant rides and circus shows.

According to studies, elephants caught in the wild live up to seven years less on average than elephants born in captivity.

Depending on their age and personality, elephants captured in the wild for commercial purposes often endure harsher treatment, but all elephants are at a higher risk of dying in the first year after capture.

Other studies have found that capture from the wild has long-term negative effects on the reproductive success of female Indian elephants.

Although countries like India, Vietnam, and Myanmar have completely banned the capture of wild elephants and elephant calves for any purpose, illegal poaching still happens in those and other nations where Indian elephants live.

Young elephants and calves are the most valuable, and the process usually kills mothers or other females as they attempt to protect the babies.

Although African elephants are better known for ivory poaching, tusked male Asian elephants are also poached in some areas, Treehugger noted.

Related article: Following its Close Friend's Death, a Sad Elephant Isolated for 15 Years in 'Bleak Enclosure'