Animal Facts About Elephants

The elephant brain weighs about 6,000g.

The oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years.

Just one gram of king cobra venom can be potent enough to kill an elephant or up to 20 humans.

The Blue Whale's tongue weighs more than an adult elephant!

Elephants are terrified of Bees and actually have a special, distinct vocalization for “Run away the Bees are angry”

The elephant is one of the few mammals that can't jump!

Elephants, lions, and camels roamed Alaska 12,000 years ago.

An elephant's tooth can weigh as much as 12 pounds.

On average, it takes 660 days from conception for an elephant to give birth.

An elephant's trunk has no bones but contains around 40,000 muscles.

Elephants are among the most emotional creatures in the world - they have even been known to rescue other animals, such as trapped dogs.

Dogs and elephants are among the few animals that instinctively understand human pointing gestures without training, a skill that even our closest primate relatives struggle to master.

The elephant shrew’s closest relative isn’t a shrew – it’s actually an elephant

Some farmers in Kenya are using elephants' natural fear of bees and building "beehive fences" that keep wild elephants from trampling the crops. It keeps the farms safe, and prevents farmers from having to kill elephants to defend their livelihood!

An elephant spent 12 hours submerged in a 45-foot well near Tsavo, Kenya - breathing only through his trunk like a snorkel. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust pumped out 150,000 liters of water, drove a crane from Mombasa overnight, and lowered a vet into the pit to sedate and lift him out. 22 hours later, he walked into the bush on his own.

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook San Diego on April 14, 2025. Elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park felt it coming through their feet. Three mothers, Ndlula, Umngani, and Khosi, raced to surround two 7-year-old calves, facing outward with ears spread wide. They held the ring for several minutes, then formed it again during an aftershock.

Lin Wang was a young elephant in Burma. Japanese soldiers forced him to haul supplies and pull artillery through the jungle during World War II. Chinese troops captured him in 1943. He marched home along the Burma Road, then sailed to Taiwan in 1947. He spent nearly 49 years at Taipei Zoo as Taiwan's most beloved animal. Lin Wang died in 2003 at 86, the longest living elephant ever recorded in captivity.