Know what the Indian elephant, one-horned rhino and Asiatic wild buffalo usually eat and are eating instead
Forests

Know what the Indian elephant, one-horned rhino and Asiatic wild buffalo usually eat and are eating instead

A shortage of food inside Indian forests is forcing these 3 megaherbivores to eat invasive species farm crops
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ELEPHANT

What it normally eats:

Different species of grass, tree barks, bamboo, leaves, creepers, palm leaves

Invasive species: Lantana camara, water hyacinth

Farm crops: Plantain trees, banana, coconut, paddy, sugarcane

RHINO

What it normally eats: Grass (wild sugarcane), Shrubs (fiddlehead fern), rosewood and aquatic plant species

Invasive species: Lantana camara and Mikania micrantha during summer months

Farm crops: Maize, potato, onion, pumpkins, carrot and cabbage

WILD BUFFALO

What it normally eats:

Aquatic plants, grass, shrubs, herbs and trees

Invasive species: Mikania micrantha, water hyacinth

Farm crops: Rice, sugarcane, jute

Note: Normal diets are indicative as they change across geographic locations and seasons. Based on interactions with wildlife experts and forest department officials

This was first published in the January 1-16, 2024 print edition of Down To Earth

India
Invasive species
Elephant
Rhinoceros
Asiatic Wild Buffalo
Down To Earth
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