The majestic elephants are the largest mammal on land yet they are peaceful and gentle creatures. There are two types of elephant species, Asian (Indian Elephants) and African. Asian Elephants are easily distinguishable from the African tuskers by their smaller size and ears, more rounded back and fourth toenail on each of their hind feet. They have thick, dry skin with a small amount of stiff hair, and are grey to brown in colour. The current worldwide population of Asian elephants is estimated at between 41,410 and 52,345 individuals. Listed as an endangered species, its the only remaining species of the genus Elephas mainly distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east.

Generally Elephants have poor eyesight, but they possess a very good sense of hearing and smell. The lifespan of Elephants is awesome, having bigger brains and an amazing memory. They rarely live on isolation but mostly stay together. So when one animal detects danger, the whole herd is alerted. The major regions where elephants are found in India include the forests of Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Uttara Pradesh, Orissa, and Assam. It is estimated that there are over 28,000 Indian Elephants in India, including zoos and animal parks. The Indian Elephant is found across India in protected forests and in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Famous Indian Elephant reserves in India includes Periyar Widlife Sanctuary, Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks.

On an additional note Kerala has an area of 38,863 km2 and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the south and southeast and the Arabian Sea towards the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital city. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities.

The best time to visit Jim Corbett National Park is from November 15 to June 15 as it is open for tourists during that time. Corbett national park remains closed from June 16 and November 14.

This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].

Elephants getting playful in the waters of corbett National Park

License at http://www.paya.com/videos/807528