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The following is a list of culturally or scientifically notable elephants.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2024) |
The following is a list of culturally or scientifically notable elephants.
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.
The Asian elephant, also known as the Asiatic elephant, is a species of elephant distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus, E. m. indicus and E. m. sumatranus. The Asian elephant is characterised by its long trunk with a single finger-like processing; large tusks in males; small ears folded laterally in contrast to African elephants; and wrinkled grey skin. The skin is smoother than African elephants and may be depigmented on the trunk, ears or neck. Adult males average 4 t in weight, and females 2.7 t.
Musth or must is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones.
Mary, also known as "Murderous Mary", was a five-ton Asian elephant who performed in the Sparks World Famous Shows circus. After killing circus employee Walter “Red” Eldridge on his second day as her handler in September 1916, in Kingsport, Tennessee, she was hanged in nearby Erwin.
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation, which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect the charity's values.
The Karachi Zoo, also known as Karachi Zoological and Botanical Gardens, formerly known as Gandhi Garden, is located in Garden East, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in 1899, it is the largest zoo of Pakistan and second oldest zoo in the country after Lahore Zoo.
The Sri Lankan elephant is native to Sri Lanka and one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. It is the type subspecies of the Asian elephant and was first described by Carl Linnaeus under the binomial Elephas maximus in 1758. The Sri Lankan elephant population is now largely restricted to the dry zone in the north, east and southeast of Sri Lanka. Elephants are present in Udawalawe National Park, Yala National Park, Lunugamvehera National Park, Wilpattu National Park and Minneriya National Park but also live outside protected areas. It is estimated that Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants in Asia. Human-elephant conflict is increasing due to conversion of elephant habitat to settlements and permanent cultivation.
Tyke was a female African bush elephant from Mozambique who performed with Circus International of Honolulu, Hawaii. On August 20, 1994, during a performance at the Neal Blaisdell Center, she killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and seriously injured her groomer, Dallas Beckwith. Tyke then ran from the arena and through the streets of the Kakaʻako central business district for more than thirty minutes. Unable to calm the elephant, local police opened fire on the animal, which collapsed from the wounds and died. While the majority of the attack in the arena was recorded on consumer videotape by several spectators, additional professional video footage captured the attack on local publicist Steve Hirano and the shooting of Tyke herself.
Elephants are an integral part of the Mysore Dasara Festival. The elephants form the core of the Mysore Dasara procession on the Vijayadashami day. The lead elephant carries the Golden Howdah with the Goddess Chamundeshwari in it. The Golden Howdah weighs 750 kilograms and is made of gold.
Balarama was the lead elephant of the Mysore Dasara procession and carried the idol of goddess Chamundeshwari on the fabled Golden Howdah thirteen times between 1999 and 2011. Balarama was a bull born about 1958 and was accompanied in the procession by other Dasara Elephants. Of the many elephants participating, Balarama was one of the star attractions when he carried on his back the sacred idol of goddess Chamundeshwari in the 750 kilograms (1,650 lb) golden howdah on the auspicious 10th day of Dasara celebrations.
Shambala Preserve is an animal sanctuary established in 1972 and located in Acton, California, a desert community 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Palmdale, off of California State Route 14 and 40 miles (64 km) north of Los Angeles.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, is a captive breeding and conservation institute for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2023, there were 71 elephants, including 30 males and 41 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.
Millangoda Raja, also known as Millangoda tusker, was a Sri Lankan elephant. Over 9 feet tall and with 7.5 foot long tusks, he was considered to be among the longest tusked captive Asian elephant during his lifetime. The tusker was one of the main casket bearers of the procession of Esala, an annual procession held to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, held in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Satao was one of Kenya's largest African elephants. He was known as a tusker because his tusks were so long that they almost touched the ground. The Tsavo Trust announced that Satao was killed by poachers using a poisoned arrow on 30 May 2014.
World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. Conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Canazwest Pictures, and Sivaporn Dardarananda, Secretary-General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, it was officially founded, supported and launched by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012. Since that time, Patricia Sims continues to lead, support and direct World Elephant Day, which is now recognized and celebrated by over 100 wildlife organizations and many individuals in countries across the globe.
Arjuna was an Asian elephant who, from 2012 to 2019, was the lead elephant and the carrier of the Golden Howdah at the Mysore Dasara. He was named after Arjuna, the third of the Pandava brothers from the Hindu epic Mahabharatha. Arjuna was part of a Karnataka Forest Department to tackle wild elephants across western Ghats of Karnataka and also operated in many states for capturing wild elephants. Arjuna died in combat on 4 December 2023.
Isilo was one of South Africa’s largest African elephants and the largest living tusker in the southern hemisphere before his death. He was known as a tusker, a male elephant with tusks weighing over 100 pounds.
Chengalloor Dakshayani was a female Asian elephant owned by Travancore Devaswom Board and kept at the Chenkalloor Mahadeva Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India, which at the time of her death on 5 February 2019 was believed to be the oldest elephant in captivity in Asia. She was also known as Gaja Raja Dakshayani and as "Dakshayanamma" and "Gaja Muthassi".
Dan Albert John Koehl is a French-Swedish zookeeper, elephant trainer, and stablemaster. An author of the Elephant Encyclopedia, he has been described as "one of Europe's most renowned experts on elephants".
Vishwa Ma'ali, commonly known as Mali, was a female Asian elephant who lived at Manila Zoo in Manila, Philippines. Born in Sri Lanka, she was given as a gift to First Lady Imelda Marcos by the Sri Lankan government in 1981 and lived at Manila Zoo from then on. For most of her life, she was the only elephant in the Philippines and was a subject of concern for animal welfare advocates. She was described as the world's "saddest" elephant.