Family: Elephantidae. ■ -Local name: Hati.
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ELEPHANT
(Elephas maximus)
The majestic ’elephant which is associated with the
Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent from time immemorial with the
spendour of her princely pageantry is one of the most prized
animal of our forests. Along with the famed Royal Bengal Tigers,
this animal also can rightly claim to be one of the most fabulous
animal of this, part of the country. But unlike the Royal Bengal
Tiger which found its way from northern-cooler country, the
fossil remains prove beyond doubt that the elephants can claim
this Sub-continent as their ancestral home for long 5,00,000
years. Fossil remains of seven species of true elephants and
eight species of mastodons have been discovered in the IndoPakistan Sub-continent. They used to roam around the sub-continent
in the prehistoric days,. One by one they faced extinction and
to-day we are left with .only one species in the whole of the
Sub-continent. East Pakistan having possessed a share of this,
unique species of the;olden days can rightly be proud of.