Asian, or Indian, elephant belongs to the family Elephantidae, smaller in size than their African elephant relatives. Asian elephants are on the endangered species list with an estimated population of below 30,000.

Asian elephants are found throughout India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar (formerly Burma), China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

There are a number of elephant races within the Asian species. The Indian elephant, is bigger, has longer front legs and a thinner body than the Thai elephant.

The elephant's gray skin is only 0.8 to 1.6 inches thick, and sparsely covered with hair. The skin does become pinkish white with age. The Asian elephant has 5 toes on the foreleg and 4 toes on each hind leg.