Feeding behaviour of wild Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Rajaji National Park

Abstract: The Asian elephant’s (Elephas maximus) feeding behaviour with food preferences was studied in Rajaji National Park area between 1999-2006. The major objective of the present study is to document the fodder plant species and their seasonal consumption by elephants. Though elephants consume a variety of plant species in the study area, but their diet mainly consisted of fifty (50) plant species, which are available to them alternately round the year. Alteration between a predominantly browse diet throughout the year with a grass diet during the early dry season was related to the seasonally changing mineral content of grasses. Consumption of tree species (74%) was highest as compared to grasses (14%) and shrubs (8%) but their diet was mainly dependent on availability of seasonal food round the year and on their migration. Elephants extensively feed on Mallotus phillipinensis, Acacia catechu, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Ehretia laevis, Dalbergia sissoo, Tectona grandis, Zizyphus mauritiana, Aegle marmelos and Ficus bengalensi