Asian elephant
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Asian elephants appear to plant the whole foot, but actually walk on their toes.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Asian elephant
- Scientific name
- Elephas maximus
- Japanese name
- アジアゾウ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Proboscidea
- Family
- Elephantidae
- Genus
- Elephas
It is an elephant that lives in forests and grasslands in countries such as India, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
In the wild, it lives in herds centered on older females, and young males leave the herd as they grow up.
Both males and females have tusks, but the females' tusks are short and hard to see from outside.
How the Asian elephant lives
It spends time looking for food both day and night. It gathers grass and leaves with its trunk and brings food to its mouth. During the hottest hours it spends time in the shade and is less active. It cools itself by bathing in water or covering itself in mud.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web上野動物園Basic data
- Size
- Shoulder height: males 2.5–3.3 m, males up to 3.8 m, females 2.4 m, females up to 2.6 m上野動物園
- Weight
- males 2,500–6,000 kg, females 2,000–4,500 kg上野動物園
- Lifespan
- up to 86 years in captivityUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- By day and by nightUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Bark, leaves, branches, grass, and other plant material上野動物園
- Range
- South and Southeast Asia上野動物園
Where the Asian elephant has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アジアゾウ
- 简体中文
- 亚洲象
- 繁體中文
- 亞洲象
- 한국어
- 아시아코끼리
- Español
- Elefante asiático
- Français
- Eléphant d'Asie
- Deutsch
- Asiatischer Elefant
- Português (Brasil)
- Elefante-asiático
- Italiano
- Elefante asiatico
- हिन्दी
- एशियाई हाथी
- العربية
- فيل آسيوي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Gajah Asia
- Tiếng Việt
- Voi châu Á
- Русский
- Азиатский слон
- Türkçe
- Asya fili
- ไทย
- ช้างเอเชีย
- বাংলা
- এশীয় হাতি
- اردو
- ایشیائی ہاتھی
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — アジアゾウChecked: 2026-11-03
- 多摩動物公園 — アジアゾウ（スリランカゾウ）Checked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Elephas maximusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Asian elephant, look for this
- Look for the finger-like projection on the upper tip of its trunk.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
上野動物園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Asian elephant
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
Read how to tell them apart
African bush elephant and Asian elephant: how to tell them apart
African bush elephants and Asian elephants differ in the size of their ears and the projections at the tip of their trunks.
RELATIVES
Others in Elephantidae
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