More than 100,000 Asian elephants may have existed at the beginning of the 20th century, roaming from the Persian Gulf to India and China. But their numbers have plummeted by at least 50% in the past three generations. A large portion of the world’s human population now lives in or near Asian elephant habitat, which has dwindled to just 15% of its historic range. Habitat loss and fragmentation and pressures from poaching and the live elephant trade pose an ever-growing threat to these nomads.

Across Asia, the pace of human development has devastated elephant populations at an alarming rate.

Asian elephants are even more endangered than their African cousins. That’s because the biggest threat to their survival isn’t poaching but habitat loss. As urbanization, industrial development, and agricultural expansion increase in countries like India and Indonesia, Asian elephants’ habitats are shrinking rapidly, leading to increasingly isolated populations and a rising number of deadly human-elephant conflicts.

Explore more of this issue's coverage of Elephants:

• 
  Living and thinking globally
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  The status of African elephants
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  Living with elephants in Botswana
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  The status of Asian elephants
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  Living with elephants in Thailand
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  Why do people buy ivory?