#634: Asian Elephant

Please excuse the current deviation from the alphabet as we know it.

 I have been working back to fill in a few gaps as part of another project - a project that could see my art in selected independent book stores, i-sites and zoo shops across New Zealand. NZ Art Cards are a company that works extensively with New Zealand artists and designers, and I have recently been invited to join their team. It is a huge honour and a very exciting step for me - I hope that we can make it work!

You can few my cards, and a selection of others, in the Kiwi Eco Kids Range. Look out for them in a store near you soon!

The Asian Elephant is smaller than her African cousin and characterised by the distinctive twin domes on her head. She also has more toes and only one "finger" on her trunk. Her range covers mainland Asia, Sri Lanka and Sumatra where she can be found in a variety of habitat types from rainforest to open grassland. A generalist vegetarian, she grazes and browses, consuming up to 150 kg of plant matter per day. Females live in small groups with their calves, whilst the males follow a solitary, bachelor lifestyle. Asian Elephants have been captured and trained by humans for centuries, used as siege weapons, beasts of burden and hunting platforms. More recently, in circuses and tourism. The process of training an elephant is often unpleasant and violent, with the animal being beaten, or otherwise tormented, into submission and obedience.