DEMOGRAPHY OF CAPTIVE ASIAN ELEPHANTS (ELEPHAS-MAXIMUS) IN SOUTHERN INDIA

Historically, the Asian elephant has never bred well in captivity. We have carried out demographic analyses of elephants captured in the wil d or born in captivity and kept in forest timber camps in southern Ind ia during the past century. The average fecundity during this period w as 0.095/adult female/year. During 1969-89, however, the fecundity was higher at 0.155/adult female/year, which compares favorably with wild populations. There was a seasonality in births with a peak in January . The sex ratio of 129 male to 109 female calves at birth is not signi ficantly different from equality, although the excess of male calves b orn mainly to mothers 20-40 years old may have biological significance . Mortality rates were higher in females than in males up to age 10, b ut much lower in females than in males above age 10 years. The populat ion growth rate, based on the lower fecundity over the century, was 0. 5% per year, and based on the higher fecundity during 1969-89, was 1.8 % per year. The analyses thus showed that timber camp elephants in sou thern India could potentially maintain a stationary or increasing popu lation without resorting to captures from the wild. Breeding efforts f or elephants in toes can thus profitably learn from the experience of traditional management systems in parts of Asia. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.