KATHMANDU — Asian elephants traverse vast distances, ingesting things they encounter as they retrace the ancient paths their ancestors followed. In doing so, they alter landscapes, create habitats, and earn the title of “nature’s engineers.” Across the 13 countries in which they’re found today, these giants — among the last remaining megaherbivores — experience immense stress due to various threats. The historical routes of these Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), known for their remarkable cognitive abilities and sophisticated communication skills, face disruptions due to rapid urbanization and expansion of agriculture. Human persecution, negative interactions with farmland, cross-boundary movements, and infrastructure development all take a heavy toll on an animal that spends 14 to 19 hours daily consuming up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of food. Despite their ecological significance, much remains unknown about elephant behavior, internal physiology, and how hormones and environmental stresses influence them. This is where Nepali researcher Sanjeeta Sharma Pokharel steps in. A post-doctoral fellow at Kyoto University in Japan, Pokharel investigates how elephants adapt physiologically to ecological, climatic and anthropogenic challenges. Pokharel, a member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, has conducted pioneering research into stress physiology in elephants in India, particularly in Karnataka and Bengalstates. The findings of her research, which involved analyzing elephant dung, highlight the importance of context, experience and personality in understanding elephants, stressing that results from one study cannot be universally applied. Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi recently met Pokharel in Kathmandu to discuss her…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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