The Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is a large Asian mammal. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon 2, Zoo Tycoon (Xbox), Zoo Tycoon DS and Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game.
Description[]
The Asian Elephant is the largest land animal in Asia and the second-largest terrestrial animal overall, after the African Elephant. Large males can reach heights of 2.75m (9ft) tall and weigh up to four tonnes. There are several differences between the Asian elephant and the African elephants. As well as being smaller, Asian individuals are stockier, and have smaller ears. They only have one finger-like extension at the end of their trunks while African individuals have two. Unlike the African elephant, generally only the male Asian elephant has full tusks; while females usually possess small tushes that typically only protrude one to two inches past the lip. Tushes are also more brittle and easily broken than normal tusks.
Asian elephants can be found across southern and Southeast Asia in a variety of habitats, from dry grasslands to tropical forests, but are always found in close proximity to water. They will graze and browse various types of vegetation, using their dexterous trunk to reach food, as well as smell and communicate with other elephants. Females form small groups along with their calves, whilst bulls are typically more solitary. Like all elephants, the Asian elephant is hunted for its ivory tusks which, over time, has resulted in recent generations of elephants growing smaller, and smaller tusks; or grow no tusks at all.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The Asian elephant is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon as a downloadable animal.
The Asian elephant is a Tropical rainforest animal and requires mostly rainforest floor terrain, but will also require grass, dirt, and freshwater for swimming. It will utilize the elephant shelter, but unlike the African elephant, will not use the elephant log toy.
 Animal Facts
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| The Asian elephant differs from its cousin, the African elephant, in several ways. Asian elephants are smaller, with males reaching up to 20 feet in length, 10 feet in height, and 12,000 lbs. in weight. They have smaller ears, more rounded backs, smoother skin, and an extra toenail on each foot. Their heads have two domes, rather than one, and only the males grow large tusks. The ends of their trunks also differ; whereas the African elephant has two projections, which it can use like fingers to grasp objects, the Asian elephant has only a single projection, requiring it to curl its trunk around anything it wants to pick up.
Asian elephants are scattered across southern Asia, from the Himalayas to Borneo. They live in all sorts of habitats, being found at widely different elevations and in climates ranging from very wet to very dry. They prefer areas that combine grass, low woody plants, and forest. At one time, elephants migrated seasonally, but agricultural development has interfered with their ability to wander freely between regions. An ideal habitat for an Asian elephant is on the fringes of a tropical rainforest, where there is an abundance of water and a plentiful supply of food. Although grasses make up a large percentage of their diet, they will also eat leaves, bark, stems and fruits. Acacia and palm trees are favorites, as are mangoes, bananas, coconuts and berries. As elephants have inefficient digestive systems, utilizing only about 50% of their food intake, they need to eat a great deal. In captivity, their exhibits tend to need a lot of cleaning! While female African elephants have well-developed tusks, their Asian counterparts do not. This is probably due to differences between the regions in which they are found. In Africa, the elephant's tusks help it to strip bark from trees and dig for scarce water, minerals, and roots. In Asia, where food is more plentiful, tusks are not as necessary for survival. Elephants are highly intelligent animals, with a well-developed social system. Herds consist of between 15 and 30 related individuals, generally led by an older matriarch. Males are solitary, joining the herd only for the mating season. At this time, the bull elephants will battle fiercely, and sometimes fatally, for mating rights in the herd. Elephants communicate using a number of different sounds. An agitated or angry elephant will trumpet loudly. While feeding, elephants make a purring sound. Many sounds made by elephants are too low for the human ear to detect. Baby elephants are born after a year and a half gestation, and are soon able to stand and follow their mothers. They may nurse from their own mother, or from other lactating females in the herd. Although able to eat grass after a few months, elephant calves will continue nursing for about 18 months. Males leave the herd when they become sexually mature, at about 14 years of age. Elephants are slow and difficult to breed, bearing only about four young during their lives. Elephants live for about 70 years. Historically, their intelligence, strength, dexterity, and ability to navigate difficult terrain have made elephants ideal working animals. They have been used for transport and logging, and as war steeds and circus performers. Nowadays, many of their traditional roles have been phased out, leaving many of the domesticated animals without a means of support. In the wild, due to poaching and habitat destruction, Asian elephants have become an endangered species, with an estimate of fewer than 30,000 individuals remaining. |
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
The Asian elephant is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2, once again appearing as a downloadable animal. In Campaign and Challenge mode, it can only be adopted once a Zoo reaches a fame level of 3 and a half stars.
Habitat
The Asian elephant lives in the scrub biome. It is noticeably tolerant of the desert and savannah biomes (and to a lesser extent with the grassland, boreal forest, and temperate forest biomes). It enjoys water in its exhibit and will occasionally swim and wallow.
Diet
The Asian elephant is herbivorous and feeds on grass, hay, and branches.
Enrichment
Asian elephants play with the elephant log, the pursuit ball and the easel.
Shelter
Asian elephants will use the shade structure and the elephant house.
Behavior
Elephants are very social animals that prefer to have at least one other elephant in their enclosure. Females will give birth to one calf at a time. They do not mind sharing their exhibit with other animals.
 Zoopedia Description
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| The elephant is a huge mammal characterized by a long muscular snout and two long, curved tusks. Highly intelligent and strong, elephants are the largest land animals and are among the longest-lived, with life spans of 60 years or more. Healthy, full-grown elephants have no natural enemies other than humans.
Throughout history, people have prized elephants for their great size and strength. On the battlefield, soldiers astride elephants have trampled and terrified enemies. Elephants also have been trained to carry heavy supplies through jungles and to haul huge logs from the forests where they once lived. Elephants have long been revered and honored, and in Thailand, India, and other Southeast Asian countries, beautifully decorated elephants still play a significant role in traditional religious ceremonies. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha chose the form of a white elephant as one of his many earthly incarnations, and the rare appearance of a white elephant is still heralded as a manifestation of the gods. Fossils of elephant ancestors indicate they once lived on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, but elephant habitat today is restricted to Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. Elephants occupy an array of environments in Africa and Southeast Asia-grasslands, marshes, forests, deserts, and mountains. They are herbivores, or plant eaters, and need great quantities of food to sustain their massive size. They also need a lot of drinking water and so are restricted to areas with ample vegetation and adequate water. Even small herds of a few elephants can quickly deplete the food and water resources of an area, forcing them to keep on the move. A herd of elephants migrates seasonally in an extended loop, looking for fresh resources within its home range, which can extend over 1500 sq km (600 sq mi). In its search for food, an elephant can travel 5000 to 10,000 km (3100 to 6200 mi) in one year, the longest mammal migration on record. African and Asian elephants differ in size, color, and other physical characteristics. The African elephant can be distinguished by its larger size and broader ears that drape over its shoulders. Males, or bulls, may reach 4 m (13 ft) in height and weigh 7000 kg (15,400 lb). Females, or cows, are shorter, averaging 2.8 m (9 ft) in height, and weigh considerably less, about 3600 kg (7900 lb). African elephants are light gray in color, although they can appear dark gray, red, or brown from the mud they bathe in. They have a low, flat forehead and a slightly swayed back. Their fan-shaped ears average 1.5 m (5 ft) in length and 1.2 m (4 ft) in width. Both bulls and cows have long, curved tusks. Asian elephants are shorter and stockier than their African relatives, with ears that do not reach their shoulders. The average Asian bull stands 3 m (10 ft) tall and weighs 2300 kg (5100 lb), about half the weight of male African elephants. Cows reach an average height of 2.4 m (7.8 ft) and weigh an average of 3000 kg (6600 lb). Asian elephants have dark gray skin, a bulbous forehead, and a rounded back. Ear size averages 0.75 m (2.5 ft) long and 0.6 m (2 ft wide). The cow's tusks may be either absent or undeveloped. Despite their great weight, elephants walk almost noiselessly with exceptional grace, their columnar legs keeping their bulk moving forward in smooth, rhythmic strides. A thick cushion of resilient tissue grows on the base of each foot, absorbing the shock of the weight. The toes help balance the weight in walking. Elephants normally walk at a speed of about 6 km/h (about 4 mph) and can charge at up to 40 km/h (25 mph). They cannot gallop or jump over ditches, but readily take to rivers and lakes, where the water supports them and enables them to swim long distances without tiring. Elephant tusks, the paired, elongated upper incisors, or teeth, are the largest and heaviest teeth of any living animal. The tusks are used for digging for roots and water, stripping the bark off trees for food, fighting each other during mating season, and, in African elephant cows, warding off predators of baby elephants such as lions and tigers. In a calf, the first incisors are replaced within 6 to 12 months of birth, and the second set, which becomes the tusks, grows at the rate of about 17 cm (about 7 in) per year throughout life. Tusk growth is determined by genetics and nutrition, and over the years, normal wear and tear scales down their length. An African bull tusk typically weighs 20 to 45 kg (50 to 100 lb) and is 1.8 to 2.4 m (6 to 8 ft) in length. The tusks of an adult Asian bull average 1.5 m (5 ft) in length and 30 kg (70 lb) in weight. The more massive tusks of the African elephant, and the fact that both bulls and cows have tusks, make these animals a more desirable target for ivory hunters than Asian elephants. Elephants have a total of four teeth, all molars, which have jagged ridges for grinding leaves, stems, and roots. A single tooth can weigh more than 5 kg (11 lb) and measure 30 cm (12 in) in length. The first pair of molars is located toward the front of the mouth; when these front molars wear down, they drop out in pieces as the two molars in the back shift forward. Two new molars then emerge in the back of the mouth to replace those that have moved forward. Elephants replace the back molars six times throughout life. When the last set of molars wears out-anywhere between 40 and about 60 years of age-an elephant can no longer chew food and dies of starvation, a not uncommon death among elephants. Elephants lack sweat glands in their skin and their ears act like radiators for releasing body heat. By flapping them, an elephant brings the many blood vessels within each broad ear into contact with the air, which cools the blood before it circulates again through the body. This cooling mechanism may explain why the African elephant, which evolved in a hot climate, has ears larger than those of its Asian relative, which evolved in a cooler area. An elephant's tail is hairless but has a skimpy brush at its tip, a useful tool for whisking away pesky flies. A typical tail can weigh 10 kilograms (22 lb). Elephant eyesight is poor, and the eyes are small in relation to the enormous head, which can turn just slightly from side to side. This limited movement results in restricted side vision, and an elephant must move its whole body to broaden its range of vision. Its other senses-hearing, smell, taste, and touch-are acute. The most sensitive organ is the trunk, which is frequently at work picking up scents of food and danger from the ground and air. Elephants can smell water at great distances and can hear certain sounds from more than a mile away. Elephants display complex social behavior, living in tightly knit families that are matriarchal-that is, headed by the oldest females. Families are composed of sisters, cousins, aunts, and nieces, and their young offspring, and range in size from 2 to 29 individuals. These animals may remain together for life. If a family becomes too large, a few females leave to start a new herd. The members of a family bathe, forage, and travel as a group. Family members typically stay within 46 m (150 ft) of the matriarch, maintaining contact with their calls. If they are separated even for a matter of hours, their reunion is marked by an elaborate greeting ceremony, which includes running, rumbling, spinning, trumpeting, defecating, urinating, clicking tusks, and rubbing each other's bodies with their heads. The family also defends the young, sick, old, and disabled from predators. When the elder cow in a family dies, the next oldest usually takes her place as leader. Elephants communicate with each other through touch, sound, scent, and body language. Touching is done mainly with the trunk, and can range from a cow's gentle caress of her calf to a disciplinary slap delivered by a matriarch to an unruly sub-adult male. Shoving, kicking, and rubbing against each other are other ways that elephants communicate. Elephants also raise their voices to communicate, trumpeting as a warning or greeting to other elephants nearby. These animals also produce low-frequency rumbling sounds, which can travel over great distances, reaching the ears of elephants several kilometers away. Recent research indicates that elephants also communicate with infrasound, sounds inaudible to human ears. Elephant communication includes the secretion of different pheromones in urine or dung. These chemical scent signals can be detected by nearby elephants, or carried by the breeze to elephants at a distance. The secretions of the glands during musth also convey scent messages. In addition, information is shared through various body poses. An African elephant, for example, spreads its ears wide and may flap them while holding its trunk against its body to signal it is about to charge. Much has been written about the emotional life of elephants. Observation of wild elephants has proven them to be loyal and affectionate, willing to risk their lives for the sake of others in a family group. Wild elephants have been known to celebrate births of new elephants and to grieve and even shed tears over the death of a family member. In captivity, elephants can become attached to a particular zookeeper or circus worker, refusing to cooperate for anyone else. |
Zoo Tycoon (Xbox)[]
The Asian elephant is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon (Xbox) and is available in the base game, unlike its previous two appearances. Four subspecies are available, each with their own needs and a unique colour variant.
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Other Games[]
Zoo Tycoon DS[]
The Asian elephant is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon DS and is unlocked by winning campaigns. Like the main game, it is a Rainforest animal.
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game[]
The Asian elephant is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game as one of the Main Species, represented by its own meeple. It is classed as a Level 2 animal in the Ungulate Class (as there is no separate Afrotherian or Proboscidea class) and requires a Rainforest exhibit. It can only be adopted if the player has a set number of ungulates in the zoo, as well as a popularity rating of 15 or higher.
The Asian elephant is the largest animal in the game and, as a result, needs a large exhibit. A social animal, at least three individuals, of which only one can be a male, are required for it to be happy, and the exhibit requires at least two extra free spaces for the elephant to be comfortable. It is not compatible with co-species, but is one of the most popular available animals.
Gallery[]
Zoo Tycoon[]
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game[]
Trivia[]
- The Asian elephant's biome in Zoo Tycoon is much more accurate than in Zoo Tycoon 2. However, Asian elephants can survive in a wide range of environments such as grasslands, tropical rainforests, deciduous forests, and dry thorn forests.
- In Zoo Tycoon, the Asian elephant has unused animations for interacting with the Swinging Log.
- In Zoo Tycoon 2 the Asian elephant, along with the African elephant, are the only animals to use the Elephant House as a form of shelter.
- When Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals was released, a glitch could occur where, if the graphics were put on high, male Asian elephants turned pink. This is due to a coding error where the updated Asian elephant files are located in the download's file path instead of Extinct Animal's, creating a file conflict with an outdated Asian elephant coding file in x101_000.z2f.
- The Asian elephant is one of only six sexually dimorphic animals in Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game.
- In early builds of the game, the Asian elephant did not have sexual dimorphism. It was the last animal to have a sexual dimorphism stretch goal.
- The stretch goal for the male Asian elephant was revealed on November 6, 2022 for 355,000 CHF. The goal was reached on November 17, 2022, 11 days later.
- The Asian elephant can be seen on The Jungle Story and Breeding Stop Event Cards.
| Zoo Tycoon DS animals | |
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| Standard Animals | African Buffalo • African Elephant • African Lion • African Warthog • American Bighorn Sheep • American Bison • Arctic Wolf • Bengal Tiger • Black Bear • Black Leopard • Black Rhinoceros • California Sea Lion • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Clouded Leopard • Common Wildebeest • Dromedary Camel • Emperor Penguin • Gemsbok • Giant Anteater • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Gray Wolf • Greater Flamingo • Grizzly Bear • Hippopotamus • Ibex • Jaguar • Leopard • Lowland Gorilla • Mandrill • Markhor • Moose • Okapi • Olive Baboon • Ostrich • Plains Zebra • Polar Bear • Red Kangaroo • Saltwater Crocodile • Siberian Tiger • Snow Leopard • Spotted Hyena • Thomson's Gazelle • White Bengal Tiger |
| Unlockable Content | Asian Elephant • Kouprey • Onager • Orangutan • Unicorn |