The surveys undertaken vary considerably. However, the general consensus of opinion is that there are about 2,000 left in the wild and about 3,000 left in domesticity. This number has reduced from about 100,000 in total 100 years ago. The elephants in Thailand face many problems . There are a number of differences between the Asian and African elephant.
African elephants have bigger ears but smaller heads than the Asian elephant.
The larger head of the Asian elephants is due to its brain size - the Asian elephant is more intelligent and thus easier to train to work. On average an Asian elephant will eat about 250kg of food everyday, and drink about 200 litres of water a day. With them eating so much, they also produce a lot of waste. A baby weighs approximately 90kg when born. The period of pregnancy is about 22 months.