List of historical elephants

Encyclopedia : L : LI : LIS : List of historical elephants

Historical elephants

Abul-Abbas - Charlemagne's elephant
Annabelle the painting elephant - was an Indian elephant won in a contest, donated to be Anchorage, Alaska's Alaskan Zoo's first animal in 1964.
Chunee, an elephant in the menagerie at Exeter Exchange, executed by soldiers from Somerset House in March 1826
Hannibal's war elephants - In 218 BC, Hannibal crossed the Alps with 37 elephants in the Second Punic War. Surus (the Syrian) is mentioned as the bravest elephant in the army by Marcus Porcius Cato, the elder in his book Origines.
Hanno the elephant - pet elephant of Pope Leo X
Jumbo - P. T. Barnum's elephant
Kandula - the most famous elephant in Sri Lanka was given to an infant prince Dutu Gemunu (or Duttagamini) in the 2nd century B.C. The king and his elephant grew up together. A Sri Lankan elephant born in 2000 at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. is named after Kandula.
Kesavan - an Indian elephant, which was associated with the Guruvayur temple in Kerala, India. The elephant was known for its extreme devout behaviour.
The Kilimanjaro Elephant - It is thought, but not known, that he was killed on the northern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1898. His tusks weighed 237 and 225 pounds, and no other tusk in history ever went over 190 pounds. The British Museum of Natural History bought the pair of them in 1932, and after an attempt was made to steal them in 1937, they were taken off exhibit. Each are more than ten feet long and two feet in circumference at the base.
Lin Wang - a Burmese elephant that served with the Chinese Expeditionary Force during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and later moved to Taiwan with the Kuomintang army. Lin Wang became a fond childhood memory among many Taiwanese.
Mamie - African elephant at the Knoxville Zoo who paints.
Mary the Elephant - For reasons unknown, Mary, touring with Charles H. Sparks's World Famous Show, killed her inexperienced keeper Walter "Red" Eldridge on September 12, 1916, and was executed for that "crime" on September 13, 1916 in Erwin, Tennessee by being hanged by a railroad derrick car at the Clinchfield Railroad yard. The first attempt failed, as the chain suspending her snapped, and she dropped to the ground, breaking a hip. She was resuspended, and died.
Renee - Toledo Zoo's master elephant artist received formal art training in 1995.
Ruby - Famous Elephant artist, resided at the Phoenix Zoo, at least one painting was sold for $100,000.
Surapa - Buffalo Zoo's abstract elephant artist.
Topsy the Elephant - elephant tortured by handlers on Coney Island, after it killed three of them she was put out of her misery by Thomas Edison
Tuffi - a young elephant who fell from Wuppertal's suspended monorail into the river Wupper on July 21, 1950 (she survived the fall)
Tusko - Billed as the meanest Elephant
Tyke was a circus elephant who on August 20, 1994 in Honolulu, Hawaii, killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and mauled 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 thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died.
Ziggy - a 6.5 ton elephant that had been chained indoors for over 30 years in the Brookfield, Illinois zoo, and was unchained July 4, 1973.

Real things shaped like elephants

Lucy the Elephant - an architectural folly in Margate, New Jersey
The Elephant Rock - a granite rock landmark in Sardinia shaped into an elephant form by natural elements.
The Sultan's Elephant - A giant mechanical elephant

List of historical elephants

Historical elephants

Real things shaped like elephants

See also