If you were to simply count
heads, there are actually many other plant-eating species that are
more numerous than the elephant. These include the Water Buffalo,
the Wild Boar, and the Axis Deer, as depicted here.
photo M. Noonan
photo M. Noonan
However, in terms
of biomass, the elephant is the dominant form of animal life
in tropical Asia. This is a measure used by scientists to assess a
species' overall impact on its environment. It takes into account
the size of individuals as well as their numbers. In plain English,
the plants that grow in the forests and grasslands of tropical Asia
support more pounds of elephants as a life form than any other
species of animal.