Abstract
Records of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) were used to derive parameters of the von Bertalanffy function for growth in height, body weight and circumference of tusks with age. There was some evidence for a post-pubertal secondary growth spurt in both male and female elephants. Domestic elephants which were born in captivity or captured at a young age also showed a reduced growth in height in both the sexes and in body weight in males compared to wild elephants. Aspects of allometric growth such as height-body weight relationship are examined. The height was twice the circumference of front foot throughout the life span, indicating an isometric relationship.
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Sukumar, R., Joshi, N.V. & Krishnamurthy, V. Growth in the Asian elephant. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Anim. Sci.) 97, 561–571 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03179558
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03179558