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Nepal provides habitat for approximately 100–125 wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Although a small proportion of the world population of this species, this group is important for maintaining the genetic diversity of elephants and conservation of biodiversity in this region. Knowledge of foraging patterns of these animals, which is important for understanding their habitat requirements and for assessing their habitat condition, is lacking for the main areas populated by elephants in Nepal. This study investigates the feeding preferences of the Asian elephant in Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR) and Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal.

Fifty-seven species of plants in 28 families were found to be eaten by Asian elephants, including 13 species of grasses, five shrubs, two climbers, one herb and 36 species of trees. The species that …