An Elephant’s Favourite Thing – Food!
Elephants are herbivores. This means that they have a plant-based diet and eat a lot. Read on to find out how these gentle giants make more than a meal from the surrounding plants of the jungle.
Because of their size and strength, it is perhaps surprising that elephants only eat plant material once weaned from their mother’s milk. Animal species that grow up to 3 to 5 tons (and sometimes more) and eat only plants are understandably very rare in the animal kingdom, because they need such huge amounts of this low-energy foodstuff in order to maintain their body size. Unsurprisingly, such animals are called ‘megaherbivores’. Asian elephants can consume 150 – 200 kg, or about 5% of their bodyweight every day. Not only is their diet low in energy, they only digest about 40% of what they consume, due to its highly fibrous nature. This all means elephants must spend two thirds of the time eating – around 16 hours a day.
Elephants like variety, however, and an individual can eat over 100 different plant species throughout the year, including grasses, leafy plants, sedges, woody plants, bark, fruits and flowers. As generalist feeders, their diet is flexible depending on what is available for the time of year and region. They are also selective grazers and are taught by their mothers to avoid plants that are toxic or might cause digestive disturbances.
Elephants have been observed learning what to eat during different seasons. For example, they preferentially eat grasses in the wet season, when grasses have higher protein levels. This intelligent feeding pattern also helps elephants build up their nutrient reserves, protecting themselves from seasonal fluctuations.
The volume and variety of plants elephants forage for makes them sort of ‘ecological engineers’; by digging for salts, they carve hills in the landscape. They also disperse seeds and fertilise them via digestion. They defecate an average of 16-18 times per day, and they can produce over 100 kg of dung daily.
This activity creates habitats and food sources for hundreds of other species to thrive. Asian elephants are a flagship species: by protecting them, we can protect whole ecosystems. Many human activities are reducing the food sources available for elephants; climate change is expected to increase severity of heavy rains and frequency of drought.
What about Captive Elephants?
Until at least they are one-year-old, elephants usually consume only their mother’s milk. This has lots of protein and fat which the baby elephants need to grow (by 1 kg per day). As their stronger second set of teeth develops, they begin eating solids, 
but continue relying on milk until they are two- to four-years-old. Foods grown for elephants include pineapple plants, sugarcane and banana leaves.
The concentrations of protein, minerals and vitamins in plant matter decrease with age, so it is important to feed elephants fresh material and also to allow them to freely browse diverse natural vegetation.
Find out more:
Elephant World. (2019). Elephant Feeding. Available: https://www.elephant-world.com/elephant-feeding/. Last accessed 09.11.19.
Phang Nga Elephant Park. (2015-2019). Asian Elephant Profile. Available: https://phangngaelephantpark.com/asian-elephant-profile/. Last accessed 09.11.19.
Further References:
Koirala, R.K et al. (2016). Feeding Preferences of the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) in Nepal. BMC Ecology. 16 (54).
Sukumar, R. (1993). Nutrition and Foraging. In: Eltringham, S.K et al The Asian Elephant: Ecology and Management. Cambridge: Cambridge Studies in Applied Ecology & Resource Management) (Cambridge Studies in Applied Ecology and Resource Management. p82-83.
Wild elephants roam hundreds of square kilometres searching for essential nutrients. With domesticated elephants it is very important to replicate this nutritional variation. 
Like humans taking multivitamins, elephants can be kept healthy with nutrient supplements. Every elephant keeper has his own ideas about the best supplements, but they are often made from a mixture of ground feed pellets, containing minerals and vitamins, plus water so they are not too dry. Mashed bananas make them delicious and help to combine the mixture into balls, 
each weighing about 500g!
STEF has been teaching local Thai children about elephant welfare on its sponsored activity days at Phang Nga Elephant Park as part of our PLACE2C programme which we hope will empower children to learn about and work with elephants in ethical, sustainable ways in the future.
What do Elephants Need?
Wild elephants get much of their essential minerals through eating mineral-rich soil or digging for salt licks located on their foraging routes. These provide sodium and other minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are vital to their health.
Scientists agree that more studies are required into the mineral requirements of elephants, but here are a few of the minerals and vitamins that elephants need to keep them healthy. Here are some of the important nutrients and why they are vital for life:
| Nutrient: | Can be found in: | Some of the important roles: |
| Sodium | Soil, salt deposits | For the proper function of the nervous system, the bioelectrical network behind movement and brain activity As an essential electrolyte, to help ensure elephants absorb enough of the 200 L of water they drink daily, so maintaining blood pressure and hydration |
| Iron | Grasses, leaves, twigs | A component of haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen throughout the body. Oxygen is essential for life, breaking down sugars, releasing energy for growth, maintenance, repair and movement |
| Phosphorus | Leaves and grasses | Binds calcium to form bones and cartilage so any deficiency can lead to weakened bones and joints Forms reactive components needed to break down sugars, releasing energy for growth, repair and movement |
| Calcium | Bark, leaves, leguminous plants | Forms strong bones and cartilage so a deficiency can lead to bone and joint disease Stimulates hormone secretion, immune defences, nervous activity for thinking and movement, muscle contraction for movement and heart activity, blood clotting at wounds |
| Vitamin B | Made by a range of gut bacteria | Makes fatty insulation for nerves so they can transmit signals for thinking and movement Maintains healthy skin ensuring good growth of foot-pads and toenails, so lessening chance of lesions and cracks which can impair mobility |
| Vitamin E | Leaves and grasses | As an antioxidant, scavenges reactive metabolic products that can attack body tissues, protecting integrity and activity of the immune and nervous systems and muscles Stimulates tissue repair and wound healing
|
What Must be Done Now?
Only 10% of forested elephant habitat remains in Thailand; most land is now dedicated to crops for human consumption which don’t meet elephants’ nutritional needs. At STEF, we grow elephant food sustainably on our land at Klok Kloi, near Phuket. Farming optimally-cultivated food for elephants needs to be encouraged, along with reduced use of pesticides and fertilisers.
Like humans, elephants have individual dietary needs and, like humans, some of them are just picky! Elephants support their development and changing activities by changing what they eat.
How Do Elephants Get Protein – Southern Thailand Elephant Foundation
As elephants develop, their diet changes too. Young elephants need lots of energy-rich foods like sugarcane, which support their growth up to the age of around 30. Protein-rich foods like leguminous plants are also important for muscle growth. Minerals like calcium and phosphorus are also vital nutrients for growing, as they help form bones and teeth. Calcium stimulates body tissues to grow and secrete developmental hormones. Phosphorus triggers the digestive process, so that elephants can break down sugars they eat and release energy for growth. Phosphorus also forms part of an animal’s genetic code, DNA, which provides instructions the body needs to grow and develop. It is therefore especially important that young elephants eat lots of calcium-rich foods like bark and leguminous plants, as well as plants high in phosphorus.
Pregnant or nursing elephants need extra energy and protein-rich foods for the bodily changes they undergo to support their growing offspring. As with young elephants, they need elevated levels of phosphorus to ensure that the extra sugars they eat are digested. Calcium is also vital to support bodily growth and hormone secretion during a long pregnancy of 22 months. Calcium also triggers the muscle contractions needed for a successful labour. Finally, calcium and phosphates provide key nutrients in the milk they produce, supporting healthy growth of their calves. Calcium, phosphorus and many other
nutrients can be topped up with dietary supplements.
Food is a priority for male elephants when they enter a period called ‘musth’. This is when they are ready to breed, as testosterone in the blood increases by up to 40 times its normal level! In order to produce such high levels of this hormone, these elephants need extra protein, which can be provided in leguminous plants. They also need lots of energy-rich foods like sugarcane in order to fuel their activity in pursuing a mate.
Older elephants, who are on their sixth and last set of teeth, need a softer diet than most. Starvation is sadly one of the most common natural causes of death in wild elephants; as their teeth are lost, so is their ability to eat. However, good chaangs (carers) will often mash up their food for them and limit their consumption of tough, woody materials like sugarcane. Moreover, woody plants can be beneficial in an elephant’s diet; they help clean and work out old teeth, making room for new sets. Kwan chaangs should check their elephants’ teeth daily and monitor their natural wear and health. Finally, all elephants have personal preferences, just like humans. Some are very fussy – especially teenagers – and throw away perfectly good bananas or pineapples for being too green or leafy!
What future developments could improve captive elephant nutrition?
By analysing biochemical compositions, specific plant species could be identified with high concentrations of key nutrients.
By analysing regular blood samples from elephants in our laboratory, we will also be able to optimise diets for their individual needs.
Find out more:
International Plant Nutrition Institute. (1999). Phosphorus in Animal Nutrition. Better Crops With Plant Food. 83 (1), p32-33.
Phang Nga Elephant Park. (2015-2019). Appearance and Intelligence. Available: https://phangngaelephantpark.com/appearance-and-intelligence/. Last accessed 09.11.19.
Further references:
Association of Zoos & Aquariums (2012). AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care. 2nd ed. USA: Association of Zoos & Aquariums. p28.
Koirala, R.K et al. (2019). The Effects of Age, Sex and Season on the Macronutrient Composition of the Diet of the Domestic Asian Elephant. Journal of Applied Animal Research. 47 (1), 5-16.
van Baarlen, I; Gerritsen, M (2012). Elephant Nutrition in Dutch Zoos. The Netherlands: University of Applied Sciences.
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