Elephant IDs for Yala

We have been studying the Yala elephants since more than 20 years. Since 1993 we have identified more than xx females and yyy males.

You can also follow the Yala elephants by becoming a member of the group "Elephants of Yala" on Facebook.

Gemunu Group

Menika is one of the oldest in the Gemunu group. She is very easy to recognize as she has the primary and secondary folds in both ears folded 'out'. Menika also has a very distinct 'step' in the middle of her spine.

Ruchi is the other old female in the Gemunu group. She is easy to identify from her large ears with strong primary folds folded 'out' and secondary folds folded 'in' and very long ear lobes. She also has a small hole in her right ear. Ruchi lost two of her babies since 2004 and the third (Remo) was captured and taken to the ETH in 2013 as he was weak. He is supposed to be released back to the wild soon but probably not in Yala. We also have not seen Ruchi for a few months now.

Di was named after Lady Di/Princess Diana. She is from the generation after Menika and Ruchi and is probably around 40 years of age. She was very beautiful in her youth! Di also has a distinct 'step' on her spine like Menika but her ears have small primary folds that are 'out' and strong secondary folds folded 'in'. The folding back of the ear by the secondaries make her ears look narrow and 'tall'. She also has a nice long tail tuft.

Dinu is another female from the Gemunu group. She is about the same age as Di. Dinu is easy to recognize as she has a very prominent 'shoulder hump' as the first part of her spine is higher. The primary fold on her right ear is slightly larger than the one on her left. She has strong secondary folds folded 'in' on both ears and a tail tuft which has the 'inside' - the side towards the body - longer.

Chinta is also a member of the Gemunu group. She is a fairly big female and can be identified by the shape of her spine which has a high point in the middle giving it a slightly triangular shape. Chinta has a good tail tuft with inside and outside hair about equal in length. She has strong primary folds which are 'out' and secondary folds which are 'in' on both ears. Her right breast is smaller than her left. Chinta also has had a couple of her calves dying in the past few years and her 10-year old daughter Chinta is very stunted, having only the size of a 4-5 year old elephant.

Duni also has a 'step' in her spine like Di and Menika but whereas on both of them the 'step' is down with the rear half of the spine lower, Dinu has a 'step-up' with the rear half of the spine higher. Her ears are like Dinu's, with small primaries 'out' and strong secondaries 'in', but in Duni the left primary is slightly larger and in Dinu the right. Duni has a tail tuft which is quite long in front and short at the back.

Rolli is a little shorter than the average adult female. You can recognize her from her very long tail tuft which is longer on the front. She has large triangular ears with a small primary and secondary 'out' - so the primary fold continues into and becomes the secondary. Unlike most Gemunu herd females, Rolli so far has had good luck with her babies. None of her young have died and she has succesfully reared three offspring till now. Her first born daughter Romy is expected to have her first baby this year.