Circus poster of Jumbo, an African bush elephant famed for his exceptional size

The following is a list of culturally or scientifically notable elephants.

Actors

• Chirakkal Kalidasan, one of the tallest elephants in Kerala, also notable for acting in some films, including the 2017 epic film, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
• Tai, known for featuring in the films Larger than Life (1996) and Water for Elephants (2011)

Fame by proxy to owner

• Abul-Abbas, Charlemagne's elephant
• The Cremona elephant, given to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II by the Sultan of Egypt in 1229
• Elephant of Henry III (c. 1245–14 February 1257), given to Henry III of England by Louis IX of France^[1]
• Hanno the elephant, pet elephant of Pope Leo X
• Jayathu, elephant gifted by J. R. Jayewardene to Ronald Reagan in 1984
• Shanthi, elephant gifted by Sri Lanka to Jimmy Carter and the American children in 1976
• Suleiman the elephant, presented in 1551 to Maximilian II, the Holy Roman Emperor, by John III, the King of Portugal, and named after the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent

Wild elephants

• Echo, "most studied elephant in the world, the subject of several books and documentaries, including two NATURE films"^[2]
• Isilo of Tembe Elephant Park was one of South Africa’s largest African elephants who was the largest living tusker in the Southern hemisphere before his death in 2014
• Kongad Kuttisankaran, a famous native elephant which lived in Kerala
• Padayappa, a wild elephant in Munnar known for its frequent incursions into residential areas
• Raja Gaj, bull elephant that lived in the Bardiya National Park, Nepal who was considered to be the world's largest Asian Elephant of modern times^[3]
• Satao, one of the largest African elephants; he had unusually large tusks and was killed by poachers in 2014^[4]

Working elephants

Notorious elephants

• Arikomban, a rogue elephant in Kerala; tranquillized by the Kerala wildlife department and herded into a truck using four kumki elephants and sent to the Periyar Tiger Reserve on 29 April 2023.
• Black Diamond, Indian elephant with Al G. Barnes Circus; killed four people and was subsequently shot dead in 1929.
• Dhurbe, wild elephant responsible for the deaths of 15 people; considered at large as of 2023 although reportedly the same elephant was fitted with a radiocollar in Chitwan National Park.^[7]
• Kolakolli, Indian rogue elephant from Peppara sanctuary; died in captivity in 2006.
• Mary (a.k.a. "Mighty Mary" and "Murderous Mary"), was a circus elephant who was executed on 13 September 1916 in Erwin, Tennessee. She was hanged by a railroad derrick car at the Clinchfield Railroad yard. This is the only known elephant hanging in history. Mary, who toured with the Sparks World Famous Shows circus, killed her inexperienced keeper, Walter "Red" Eldridge, on 12 September 1916 during a circus parade in nearby Kingsport, Tennessee. (Eldridge had supposedly hit Mary's tusk or ear when she wandered from the parade line to eat a piece of discarded watermelon.)
• Osama bin Laden – refers to three different elephants: the first was a rogue elephant which killed at least 27 people in India from 2004 until shot dead in 2006; another troublesome tusker blamed for killing 11 people was killed in 2008; and the last, known as "Laden", killed 5 people before being caught and dying in captivity.^[8]
• Rajje (1951?–1963), performing elephant that escaped into the streets of Lansing, Michigan, and was killed by gunfire.
• Topsy (c. 1875 – 4 January 1903), elephant who, in 1902, while with the Forepaugh Circus, killed a spectator who burned her trunk with a lit cigar. In 1903, the owners of Coney Island's Luna Park where she ended up claimed they could no longer keep her, culling her with poison, electrocution, and strangling. The Edison Manufacturing movie company shot a film of the execution called Electrocuting an Elephant.
• Tyke, circus elephant who, on 20 August 1994, in Honolulu, Hawaii, killed her trainer Allen Campbell and gored her groom Dallas Beckwith, causing severe injuries during a Circus International performance before hundreds of horrified spectators; Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through downtown streets of Kakaako for more than 30 minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died.

Temple elephants

• Chengalloor Dakshayani, an Asian female elephant who was owned by Travancore Devaswom Board and kept at the Chenkalloor Mahadeva Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. At the time of her death on 5 February 2019, she was believed to be the oldest elephant in captivity in Asia, at approximately 88 years old.
• Guruvayur Kesavan, perhaps the most famous and celebrated Guruvayur Temple elephant
• Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, an Indian elephant
• Thiruvambadi Sivasundar, an Indian elephant who lived at the Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple in Thrissur, Kerala
• Thrikkadavoor Sivaraju, one of the tallest elephants from Kerala
• Tikiri, participated in the Kandy Esala Perahera

Zoo elephants

• Bamboo, lived at the Woodland Park Zoo for many years and was the center of a campaign to have her moved to a sanctuary.
• Batyr (1970–93), the "talking elephant" of Karagandy Zoo in Kazakhstan.
• Castor and Pollux, served as food to the wealthy citizens of Paris during the siege in 1870.
• Chunee, elephant in the menagerie at Exeter Exchange; executed by soldiers from Somerset House in March 1826.
• The Dundee Elephant, exhibited in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Dunk, first elephant to reside at the National Zoo in the United States.
• Gabi, male Asian elephant who was born in 2005 at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo; first elephant in Israel conceived via artificial insemination.
• Gita, whose death at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2006 sparked public outcry.
• Gold Dust, one of the first elephants to reside at the National Zoo in the United States.
• Hattie of New York City's Central Park Zoo, in 1903 was described as the "most intelligent of all elephants".^[9]
• Kaavan, subject to a lengthy but ultimately successful campaign to be moved from Pakistan to a sanctuary in Cambodia after the death of his companion.
• Kashin, Asian elephant from New Zealand, famous for being sponsored by ASB Bank, and featured in the New Zealand-produced television programme The Zoo.
• Kosik, able to imitate a number of Korean words.
• Kottur Soman, the reputed oldest living elephant in the world.
• Madhubala, female African elephant at the Karachi Zoo in Pakistan; one of the last four captive elephants in Pakistan (along with Noor Jehan, Malika and Sonu).
• Mali (died 2023), held alone for most of her life at the Manila Zoo in the Philippines until her death.
• Mangalamkunnu Karnan, a famous elephant in Kerala known for his ability to hold the heads-up for a long time; he also appeared in three films (Malayalam & Bollywood).
• Miss Jim, "The First Lady of the St. Louis Zoo", was the zoo's first elephant, and a star attraction from 1916 to 1948.^[10]
• Mona, euthanized on June 21, 2007, at the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama. Thought, at 60, to have been the oldest Asian elephant in the United States. After the death of her companion, Susie, Mona's health and living conditions were the subject of a long campaign to have her transferred out of the zoo to a sanctuary.
• Noor Jehan, female African elephant who died at the Karachi Zoo in Pakistan in 2023; one of the last four captive elephants in Pakistan (along with Madhubala, Malika and Sonu).
• Packy (1962–2017), resident of Oregon Zoo (formerly Washington Park Zoo, originally Portland Zoo) in Portland, Oregon. First Asian elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. At his death, he was the patriarch of the zoo's herd and had sired seven offspring (although only one remains alive in 2021, and none have produced any offspring).
• Queenie (died 1944), gave rides for children at the Melbourne Zoo for 40 years.
• Rosie the Elephant, famous for promoting Miami Beach, Florida.
• Ruby (1973–1998), elephant artist, resided at the Phoenix Zoo; at least one painting by her was sold for $100,000.
• Tricia, Asian elephant who resided at Perth Zoo between 1963 until her death at age 65 in 2022. She was one of the world's oldest Asian elephants.
• Ziggy, famously rebellious elephant at Brookfield Zoo.

Other

• Motola, an Asian elephant in Thailand who stepped on a landmine in 1999; survived and walked on three legs for a number of years until she was fitted with a prosthetic foot.
• Motty, only confirmed Asian/African hybrid elephant; survived for just 10 days at the Chester Zoo in England.
• Queenie (waterskiing elephant) (1952–2011), noted in the late 1950s and early 1960s for waterskiing for entertainment in the United States.
• Tuffi, young female elephant who fell from Wuppertal's suspended monorail into the river Wupper in Germany on 21 July 1950; survived the fall.

See also

• List of fictional pachyderms
• List of elephants in mythology and religion
• Cultural depictions of elephants
• Elephant Encyclopedia

References