The world's largest Asian elephant may have died

The world's largest Asian elephant has disappeared from a protected area in Nepal and may have died, a Nepalese conservation official said.

Raja Gaj, which is estimated to be nearly 3.4m tall, is 0.6m taller than other Asian elephants, which is the focal point for visitors to Bardia National Park in southwestern Nepal. On December 5, Phanindra Kharel, an official at the park, said people had not seen him for a year.

'The last time I saw Raja Gaj, it was thin and quite difficult to move' - Kharel said. According to him, the chance of finding an elephant over 70 years of age is very low.

Kharel also said he could not confirm whether Raja Gaj was killed by poachers, but in the area, poaching was quite frequent. He recently asked his colleagues in India to help out if he found Raja Gaj wandering through the reserve on the other side of the border.

In Nepal there are currently about 250 Asian elephants, animals classified as endangered, with about 100 individuals being domesticated and used for hunting in national parks.

Raja Gaj (Photo: Dailymail)

WALL VY