Asian elephant habitat shrinks almost two-thirds in 300 years, including 94 per cent drop in China, study finds
- Some 3.3 million sq km of Asian elephant habitat has been lost since 1700, according to new paper
- Lead author says much of the animal’s allocated range land in Yunnan province might not be suitable, prompting the animals to search elsewhere
It equates to a drop of 3.3 million sq km (1.27 million square miles), similar to the size of India, since 1700.
The analysis shows that China has lost 94 per cent of its suitable elephant habitat, the greatest decline in the region, followed by India (86 per cent) and Bangladesh (72 per cent).
Thailand, Vietnam and the Indonesian island of Sumatra have all lost more than half their suitable elephant habitat.
While the study did not look into specific reasons for habitat loss in each country, the team observed a global trend of “a marked conversion of landscapes into more heavily human-dominated spaces”.
The researchers from Australia, Britain, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States and Vietnam published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports on Thursday.
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Endangered wild Asian elephant population in China doubles amid conservation efforts
Lead author Shermin de Silva, founder of the elephant conservation non-profit organisation Trunks & Leaves and an assistant professor in the department of ecology, behaviour and evolution at the University of California San Diego, said Asian elephants thrived in seasonal grasslands, tropical deciduous forests and rainforests if food and drinking water were available.