43 Items Tagged

Elephants

Xiangliab, Laos

Tham Nang Ene Cave

Mythological depictions of Laos’ national animal make this cave sacred.

This detail from the 12th-century Aberdeen Bestiary shows a dragon wrestling an elephant.

That Time Portugal’s King Gifted an Elephant to the Pope

Hanno the elephant suffered much at the hands of power-hungry Europeans.

Devon Field August 21, 2024

Der Kleine Elefant

This small, easily-overlooked sculpture recalls the first time Graz saw a live elephant.

Royal Leamington Spa, England

The Elephant Wash

This river ramp was once used by the elephants of a local circus.

Bern, Switzerland

Elephant of Murten

The skeleton of a 19th-century elephant that was executed by cannonball.

Hyenas and crocodiles dined on a waterside carcass together, caught via camera trap.

You Never Know Who Will Turn Up at an Elephant Carcass

Researchers in Kenya spied some unexpected guests at these “carrion bonanzas”

Roxanne Hoorn August 16, 2023

To reduce the risk of conflict between humans and elephants, scientists are looking at the situation from the animals' perspective.

To Reduce Conflicts With Humans, Get Inside an Elephant's Head

Understanding how the giant mammals weigh risk and reward could help prevent clashes with people.

Mridula Chari June 5, 2023

Elephant Head Rock, silhouetted.

Gerlach, Nevada

Elephant Head Rock

A remote, little-known natural arch in granite in the desert of northwestern Nevada.

Moultrie, Georgia

Nancy the Elephant Tombstone Monument

A life-sized baby elephant tombstone marks the grave of a circus owner at a country church in southern Georgia.

Dowden's Ordinary "ghost tavern"

Clarksburg, Maryland

Dowden's Ordinary Park

This suburban park recalls the history of a famous tavern. Despite the name, it's no ordinary place!

Halldórsskora (Elephant Rock)

Heimaey, Iceland

Halldórsskora (Elephant Rock)

On an island south of Iceland, a large volcanic rock formation resembles an elephant.

Elephants, such as these in South Africa's Kruger National Park, are highly social—and loud.

Can We Track Elephants With Earthquake Detectors?

Low-cost seismometers could give rural communities an alert system, or begin to decipher elephant communication.

Robin George Andrews February 8, 2021

The Imaginary Elephants.

'Imaginary Elephants'

These sculptures were created by a 17th-century artist who had never seen an elephant.

An elephant sits in the waters of the Okavango Delta in September 2019.

Botswana Says It's Solved the Mystery of a Mass Elephant Die-Off

Conservationists were baffled when hundreds of elephants died in the Okavango Delta this summer.

Atlas Obscura September 21, 2020

Somerset, Pennsylvania

Statue of Jackson the Elephant

In the parking lot of a fast food restaurant, a statue memorializing a prolific bull elephant.

Elephant statue in front of the Old Parliament House.

Chulalongkorn's Elephant Statue

This statue was a gift to commemorate the Thai monarch's first visit to a foreign land.

A South African Couple Has Turned Elephant Dung Into Award-Winning Gin

Luke Fater November 21, 2019

Two women create a fabric-pulp sheet.

How Elephant Poop Becomes Fancy Paper in Sri Lanka

An elephant can defecate 16 times in one day—and its 200 pounds of dung can double as paper pulp.

Zinara Rathnayake November 8, 2019