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Satao, one of the largest African elephants; he had unusually large tusks and was killed by poachers in 2014 who stole the ivory. (Another supertusker, named Satao 2 or Satao II, was killed in 2017, leaving six surviving supertuskers. Satao 2/Satao II's tusks were, however, intact, as the poachers did not have the chance to take them.)
Working elephants
Circus elephants
Fanny, former circus elephant that resided in Slater Park Zoo in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, from 1958 to 1993. She was moved to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch sanctuary in 1993 because the city closed the zoo exhibits due to financial crises. She lived the last ten years of her life at the sanctuary and died in 2003. A statue to her memory stands in Slater Park.
Hansken, female Sri Lankan elephant who toured many European countries from 1637 to 1655 demonstrating circus tricks.
Jumbo, P. T. Barnum's elephant whose name is the origin of the word jumbo (meaning "very large" or "oversized"). The African elephant was given the name Jumbo by zookeepers at the London Zoo. The name was most likely derived from the Swahili word jumbe meaning "chief".
Mademoiselle D'Jeck, performed in plays in Europe and the United States in the 19th century
Old Bet, early American circus elephant owned by Hachaliah Bailey. On July 24, 1816, she was shot and killed while on tour near Alfred, Maine, by a farmer who thought it was sinful for poor people to waste money on a traveling circus. Old Bet's owner responded by building a three-story memorial called the Elephant Hotel, which now serves as a town hall.
Old Hannibal, part of Isaac A. Van Amburgh's menagerie.
Salt and Sauce, considered the most famous British elephants of their era and mentioned in several circus books.
Drona, one of the lead Dasara Elephants of the Jamboo Savari of Mysore Dasara; he carried the Golden Howdah for a record 18 years consecutive years between 1981 and 1997.
Arjuna, trained rescue elephant with the Karnataka Forest Department who died in battle with a wild bull elephant; one or both may have been in musth. Arjuna was also a lead elephant of the Mysore Dasara procession who carried the idol of the deity Chamundeshwari on the Golden Howdah.
Chinna Thambi (or Chinnathambi), a rogue crop-raider turned kumki, who succeeded kumki extraordinaire Kaleem, who retired after 99 successful missions.
War elephants
Kandula, the royal war elephant of the Sri Lankan prince Dutugamunu in the 2nd century BC. The king and his elephant grew up together. (A Sri Lankan elephant which was born on 25 November 2001 at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. is named after Kandula.)
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.
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.
Kolakolli, Indian rogue elephant accused of killing 12 people in and around Peppara over a span of seven to eight years; caught and 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 (or Usama) bin Laden – refers to at least three different killer elephants: the first was a rogue elephant which killed at least 27 people in India from 2004 until being shot dead in 2006. The second, blamed for killing 11 people, was killed in 2008. The last, also known as "Laden", killed 5 people before being caught and dying in captivity in 2019 from undisclosed causes.
Padayappa, a wild elephant in Munnar known for its frequent incursions into residential areas.
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 seriously injured her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, 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.
Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, an Indian elephant commonly known as simply Raman, he is the tallest living captive elephant in Asia, standing at 321.5 cm (10 feet 6.575 inches).
Chunee (or Chuny), elephant in the menagerie at the Exeter Exchange; executed by soldiers from Somerset House on 1 March 1826 after he became ungovernable. He had killed a handler in 1825.
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.
Kaavan, subject to a lengthy but ultimately successful campaign to be moved from the Islamabad Zoo in 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.
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.
Mona, euthanized on 21 June 2007, at the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama. Thought, at age 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.
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 (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; she survived the fall.
Longevity
Kottoor Soman, retired kumki born circa 1942, was incorrectly represented to be the oldest living elephant in the world. In fact, the oldest known elephant in the world, as of 2024, is Vatsala, a female elephant born around 1917, who lives in the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India.
