page_title: Sri Lankan elephant
section_title: Social lives
hierarchical_section_title: Sri Lankan elephant / Social lives
caption_attribution_description: Bathing elephants. Udawalawe National Park. Sri Lanka.
context_page_description: The Sri Lankan elephant is one of the three subspecies of the Asian elephant.
  The other two subspecies are the Indian elephant and the Sumatran elephant.
  The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest of the three subspecies. They are about 11 feet tall, and can weigh up to 12,000 pounds. They eat leaves, shrubs, grasses, and other plants.
  This subspecies is the National animal of Sri Lanka and is native to the island country. It once lived over the entire island. They now live in the dry zones in the north, east, and southeast. These zones are mainly dry deciduous woodland, scrubland, grassland, and marshes. There is a small group in the rainforest.
  Sri Lankan elephants are sometimes working animals. They carry timber, transport passengers, and participate in public events like the Procession of Buddha's Tooth. They were many of them in the past. They were aggressively hunted.
  In modern times, these elephants can be seen in Sri Lanka's national parks and elephant orphanages. They have been declared an endangered species, and are protected by law. Killing one carries the death penalty.
context_section_description: Like the two other subspecies of Asian elephants, Sri Lankan elephants live in groups of individuals that are related by blood. The group is led by a matriarch. She is usually the oldest and most experienced female in the group.
  Sometimes a group will join another group to become a clan. The clan may then join another group or clan to become a herd. Groups are female-centered, and consist of grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. 
  Immature male elephants are members of the group, but once they reach sexual maturity, the females drive them out of the group. These males may then join bachelor groups or live on their own.
caption: Elephants bathing in the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka
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