Jeheskel "Hezy" Shoshani was an evolutionary biologist who studied elephants and their relatives for over 35 years.
Jeheskel Shoshani
The Sri Lankan elephant is native to Sri Lanka and one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. It is the type subspecies of the Asian elephant and was first described by Carl Linnaeus under the binomial Elephas maximus in 1758.
The Sri Lankan elephant population is now largely restricted to the dry zone in the north, east and southeast of Sri Lanka. Elephants are present in Udawalawe National Park, Yala National Park, Lunugamvehera National Park, Wilpattu National Park and Minneriya National Park but also live outside protected areas. It is estimated that Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants in Asia. Human-elephant conflict is increasing due to conversion of elephant habitat to settlements and permanent cultivation.
Image: Srilankan tuskelephant
Image: Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) female and young 7
Head of a male without tusks
A herd of elephants in Yala National Park