AnimalsThe Asian elephant is smaller than its African cousins, with smaller ears and a rounded back. Only some males grow long tusks. Its trunk is nose, hand and drinking straw in one. India has more wild Asian elephants than any other country.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Elephas maximus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- South and South-East Asia
- Habitat
- Forests and grassland
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- herd
- Conservation status
- Endangered
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Proboscidea
- Family Elephantidae
- Genus Elephas
- Species Elephas maximus
Other members of the family Elephantidae on this site: African bush elephant.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The Asian elephant is listed as Endangered. The species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.