Asian Elephants spend three-quarters of their time looking for food. Asian elephants diet is very diverse and includes about 100 plant species, but more than 85% of its volume falls on 10-15 favorite types of food.
These huge herbivores with intensive metabolism need a lot of food: in the dry season, an adult elephant eats 100-150 kg per day, in a wet season – from 200 to 280 kg.
In the wet season, elephants eat grass more than the less nutritious tree mass of trees and shrubs, in the dry season – on the contrary. Regularly eat the soil, rich in the necessary mineral salts (iron, bicarbonate). The elephant needs about 180 liters of water per day. Usually they quench their thirst once a day and do not pay much attention to water quality. When their food is rich in liquid, animals are able to do without water for several days. In some arid zones, elephants dig up the dried beds of streams until they reach the groundwater level. After the departure of elephants, small wells remain, which serve as watering points for other animals.
