The Asian Elephant is the largest terrestrial animal in Asia but is smaller than the African Elephant. The Asian Elephant is a forest Elephant with smaller ears, concave back and a trunk with one protuberance which distinguishes it from the African Elephant. Most of Sri Lanka’s Elephants now remain in the dry lowlands while a few remain in the mid hills around peak wilderness. Mother and calf is the basic unit of an Elephant society and males are pushed out of the herd when they reach puberty where they form bachelor herds before becoming solitary bulls as they grow older. Asian Elephants consume leaves from shrubs and trees and need grasslands to graze in. During heavy droughts many smaller clans form herds near water bodies and then disperse when food and water is available. This is called the gathering and is an opportunity for wildlife enthusiast to witness the largest congregation of Elephants on the earth during the months of August-September. Elephants from far as Trincomalee and Wasgomuwa are said to be attracted to the Minneriya Tank reservoir which is a man-made lake.   The Asian Elephant male can grow up to 1.1-1.36m; female around 0.98-1.01m and weigh around 3000kg.