Asian Elephants: Threats and Solutions The Asian elephant once
roamed from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in western Asia as
far east as China's Yangtze River. No longer. Now a highly
endangered species, it has been eliminated from western Asia
completely, from substantial parts of the Indian subcontinent
and Southeast Asia, and almost entirely from China. Exceedingly
adaptable in diet and behavior, elephants can survive anywhere
from grasslands to rain forests, but they must migrate across
large areas to find water and suitable food at different times
of the year. Such vast ranges have become extremely rare in
densely populated, rapidly developing Asia. Though it's
difficult to count elephants in the wild, it's estimated that
the wild Asian population, which numbered in the hundreds of
thousands at the turn of the 20th century, is now only 37,000 to
48,000 animals. Yet thanks to ancient cultural tradition, about
16,000 Asian elephants are kept in captivity in 11 Asian
countries. This situation makes the Asi