Estimation of the total surface area in Indian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus)

Abstract

Twenty-four adult Indian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) of both sexes and different ages and weights, belonging to the Temple Devaswoms, the Forest Department of the Government of Kerala and the Gemini Circus formed the experimental subjects from which formulae were derived to predict the total surface area from either body measurements or areas of individual regions. Several models, using the parameters studied either singly or in combination, were tried independently for males and females and also for adults irrespective of sex. The best prediction of total surface area (S) in m² was obtained for adults irrespective of sex by using the two parameters, the height at the shoulders (H) in m and forefoot pad circumference (FFC) in m in the formula S=−8.245+6.807H+7.073FFC. No significant improvement in the accuracy of prediction resulted from the use of the independent best fit formulae for males and females. The conventional method of using the exponential of body weight (kg) for predicting suface area was not found to yield an equivalent accuracy in these animals.