Abstract

Characteristics of 3 elephant populations of Peninsular India are examined and comparisons made with that of other populations. The parameters examined were distribution, density, sex ratio and proportion of individuals in various age classes in the population. Out of the 3 localities studied, Bandipur and Periyar had relatively undisturbed habitat while Idukki was disturbed. Larger herds were characteristics of Bandipur and Periyar where the adult male to adult female ratio was 1: 9 and 1: 25 respectively. Both populations had a sex ratio of 1: 1 in the case of subadults. Although the Periyar population had a lower proportion of adult male elephants in comparision with Bandipur, the proportion of young ones was similar. The Idukki population had very few adult males, where the proportion of young ones and subadults was also very low. Solitary female elephants were observed at Idukki which is indicative of a disturbed population. The major reason for the disparity in sex