Habitat and Adaptation
Sri Lankan subspecies is confined to the island of Sri Lanka (65,605 square kilometers, 25,332 square miles) off the southern coast of India. Although there is no accurate census available, it is estimated that about 2500-3000 elephants are still found in the wild, and a further 500 odd in captivity.  It occupies a variety of habitats from open grasslands to forested regions, wet areas of marshes and lake shores. At the turn of the century more than 10,000 elephants were found distributed all over the island. These numbers were rapidly depeleted , firstly due to big game hunting, and subsequently because of rapid development and deforestation, which in turn increased the conflict between man and elephant. The remaining few thousands are confined to the national parks, while pockets of small herds are strewn around in the north-eastern and eastern areas.