Elephants

  • Photo: Samburu elephants

    Samburu Elephants

    An African Love Story

    More »

Elephants at Risk

Elephants, largest of all land animals, are among the most recognizable and beloved creatures on Earth. Their ancestors once roamed most of the planet, but wild populations are now confined to decreasing swaths of land in Africa and Asia. Hunted mercilessly for their prized ivory tusks, they are under threat in most of their range from poaching, habitat loss, and human encroachment and are listed as threatened by the IUCN.

National Geographic has been promoting elephant research and conservation since 1922. You can make an impact by offering your support to the National Geographic Society. You can also contact your local government representative and your country's CITES representative to express your support of the international ban on the trade of ivory. People in the United States can get in touch with their congressional representative and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Elephant Features

  • Photo: An African elephant

    Can They Survive?

    In 1980, wildlife consultants Oria and Iain Douglas-Hamilton documented the havoc wreaked by ivory hunters and human population pressure.

  • Photo: two African elephants with their trunks twined

    African Elephant

    Get fun facts on African elephants, plus video, audio, photos, and more at National Geographic's Kids site.

  • Photo: Elephants walking across a desert

    Last Stand in Zakouma

    A refuge in Chad gives endangered central African elephants armed protection—and a fighting chance.

  • Photo: An Asian elephant eating

    Asian Elephant

    Learn how the ears have it when identifying elephant species. Find out what makes these mammoth mammals tick.

  • Photo: African elephant

    African Elephant

    Get a load of the world's largest land mammal. Find out how the African elephant's impressive tusks help it survive, but have also been its downfall.

Games & More

Conservation

Animals

Animal News

  1. Top 10 New Species of 2012
  2. Longest Python Found in Florida
  3. Why'd Penguins Stop Flying?
  4. Bats Can Recognize Voices
  5. African Frog Spreads Death
  6. 6 of Nature's Loneliest Animals
  7. Dog, Human Genes Evolved Together

More From National Geographic

  1. Photo: A red bird with black wings on a branch

    Backyard Birding

  2. Photo: Kitten

    Little Kitties for Big Cats

  3. 350053.jpg

    Help Save Lions and Tigers

  4. 21080.jpg

    Virunga Gorillas

  5. Photo: Lion bares his teeth

    Cause an Uproar

  6. Photo: Whale shark with small fish

    Sharks

  7. Photo: Tiger diving underwater

    Photo of the Day: Animals

  8. Photo: Samburu elephants

    Samburu Elephants

  9. Photo: Zeb Hogan holding a large fish

    Megafishes

  10. 2572.jpg

    My Shot Dogs

  11. Photo: Coral reef with fish

    Ocean Portal