When the pharaohs of Egypt conquered West Asia in the 15th century B.C., they took over the lucrative ivory trade that had once thrived in Egypt until elephants were hunted to extinction there. Trade continued in West Asia until the 7th century B.C., when elephants were wiped out there as well. Herds, consisting of females and their offspring, may occasionally number up to 40, but nowadays most herds are much smaller. Adult males have no permanent ties to females, although they may associate with them while feeding and as part of the mating process.
Males are generally tolerant of one another and serious fighting is rare.
They included mammoths, mastodons, and several others that looked quite different from modern elephants. For both species , habitat , populations, and survival prospects are shrinking. For Asian elephants in particular, the situation is critical. Asian elephants used to live from Iraq to southern China. They are forest animals, and the forests they once occupied have been cut down to make way for farms and villages.