KEY POINTS:
What is thought to be the world's largest Asian elephant has been missing from a Nepali wildlife reserve for a year and may be dead.
Raja Gaj, or king elephant, was estimated to be nearly 3.5m tall at the shoulder, two feet taller than the average Asian elephant. The bull was one of the main attractions at Bardia National Park in southwest Nepal.
"When I saw it last it was lean and thin, and finding it difficult to carry its weight," Phanindra Kharel, a senior conservationist at the park, said.
Raja Gaj is, or was, more than 70 years old.
- REUTERS
