ASIAN ELEPHANT

REPRODUCTIVE
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There is a sexual pheromone in the urine of the female Asian elephant.

The pheromone is even more concentrated before ovulation.
During mating cycle, females will go into a heat.
Female Asian elephants create a (loud) infrasonic sound during their
heat which attracts males. The sound can be heard by elephants from
up to 2.4 miles away.
The infrasonic sound is quintessential because of short receptive time
for the female elephants (reproduction-wise).
Female elephants will exercise some choice in their mates by running
away and/or not standing still during confrontations.
Female Asian elephants in heat prefer Asian elephants also in heat.
During musth (male version of a heat, basically) the levels of
testosterone in a male elephant are up to 20 times higher than normal.
Musth lasts about 4 months in wild males.
Female Asian elephants commonly give birth for the first time around
16-17 years of age.
Elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal, actually
(18-22 months).

RATES
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A female Asian elephant may produce a calf every 3-4 years,

depending on limiting factors.
Female mortality by age class:
o <1 year: 0.10; 1 - 5 years: 0.04; 6 - 15 years: 0.015; 16 - 20
years: 0.03: 21 - 50 years: 0.015; 51 - 60 years: 0.10.

Male 'natural' (i.e. unpoached) mortality by age class:

o <1 year: 0.15; 1 - 5 years: 0.06; 6 - 50 years: 0.08; 51 - 60 years:
0.15. (Sukumar et al. 1998)