News: A study has found that Indian elephants migrated from north to south over many millennia and lost their genetic diversity progressively with each southward migration.
1. Indian Elephant is one of the three extant recognised subspecies of Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia.
2. The elephants exhibit maternalistic characteristics, with generally the female being the leader of the group.
3. Elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals, lasting up to 680 days.
4. Karnataka has the highest elephant population in India.
5. IUCN Status: Endangered.
6. Central Government has launched a centrally sponsored Project Elephant for their conservation.
7. There are 150 Elephant corridors in India, with West Bengal having the highest elephant corridors (26).
