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Conservation efforts Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

How Many Elephants Are Left in the World?

Big Elephant in Africa

While some African elephant populations are growing primarily in southern Africa, other areas are seeing decreasing populations. A lot of work has been done trying to determine the elephant population in the world, but it’s incredibly difficult to get accurate numbers. Experts can only guess at the total number of African elephants remaining.

One commonly accepted estimate is that there are about 400,000 African Elephants remaining, and between 50,000 and 100,000 Asian elephants left living in the wild.

The African Elephant population has dropped by 62% in the last decade and is expected to drop another 30% by 2025 making them an endangered species.

In fact, the elephant is labelled as “critically endangered” with WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and other organisations trying various conservation efforts to help stop the killing of these threatened species.

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Anatomy Elephants in the wild

How Fast Can An Elephant Run?

Asian Elephant running through water

Most people are surprised to learn that elephants can outrun a sprinting human. Despite weighing up to 13,000 pounds and moving on legs that resemble stone pillars, an African elephant can hit 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) at top speed — fast enough to close ground on a fleeing threat in seconds. Their speed is a reminder that size and agility are not opposites, and that evolution has found ways to make even the largest land animal on Earth surprisingly quick when the situation demands it.

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Diet & Nutrition Questions & Answers (FAQs)

What do elephants eat?

Elephant eating grass

An adult elephant consumes between 300 and 400 pounds (136–181 kg) of vegetation every single day — and spends up to 18 hours doing it. That extraordinary commitment to eating isn’t gluttony; it’s a biological necessity. Elephants have surprisingly inefficient digestive systems that absorb only around 40 percent of the nutrients in everything they eat, which means they must process enormous volumes of food just to meet their energy needs. Understanding what elephants eat reveals a great deal about how these animals shape the ecosystems they live in.

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Different species Visit elephants

Borneo Pygmy Elephants: Where to See Them

Borneo Elephant

The Borneo pygmy elephant is the smallest – and most genetically distinct – subspecies of Asian elephant on earth. Found only on the island of Borneo, and almost entirely within the Malaysian state of Sabah, it’s one of the rarest elephants in the world. Roughly 1,000 to 1,500 of them are left in the wild.

Borneo pygmy elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) are a subspecies of the Asian elephant found only on the island of Borneo, mostly in the Malaysian state of Sabah. They stand around 2.5 metres (8 feet) tall at the shoulder – roughly 30 to 60 cm shorter than mainland Asian elephants – with rounder faces, larger ears, longer tails, and straighter tusks. Only 1,000 to 1,500 remain in the wild, mostly along the Kinabatangan River and in Tabin, Deramakot, and Danum Valley forest reserves. They’re classified as Endangered by the IUCN and are threatened primarily by palm-oil-driven deforestation.

This guide covers what makes Borneo pygmy elephants a distinct subspecies, how big they actually are, where to see them in Borneo, the palm-oil conflict threatening their habitat, and what responsible tourism for this species looks like.

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Elephant behaviors Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Can Elephants Swim? Yes – And Surprisingly Well

Watch a three-ton elephant wade into a river and you’d be forgiven for expecting it to sink. It doesn’t. Elephants are among the strongest natural swimmers of any land mammal, and they’ve been crossing rivers, lakes, and even short stretches of open ocean for as long as they’ve existed.

Yes, elephants can swim. They’re buoyant, strong, and comfortable in water. They paddle with all four legs, use their trunk as a snorkel to breathe while mostly submerged, and can cover distances of up to 48 km (30 miles) in a single swim. Every species of elephant, from African bush elephants to Asian elephants, swims well from an early age.

This guide covers how elephants swim, how far they can go, why they swim, how they breathe underwater, whether baby elephants can swim, and the one myth about elephants not being able to swim that still refuses to die.

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Anatomy Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Do Elephant Tusks Grow Back? Everything You Need to Know

Male elephants with tusks fighting

Elephant tusks are one of the most recognizable features in the animal kingdom. They’re also one of the most misunderstood. Many people assume tusks are horns, that they grow back if broken, or that all elephants have them. None of these are quite right.

Elephant tusks are elongated upper incisor teeth, not horns. They grow continuously throughout an elephant’s life at roughly 17 cm (7 inches) per year. If a tusk breaks, it does not grow back – unlike rhino horns, which do regenerate. Not all elephants have tusks: most African elephants (male and female) do, while in Asian elephants only some males grow visible tusks.

This guide covers what tusks are made of, whether they grow back, how big they can get, why elephants need them, what’s happening with tuskless elephant populations, and what elephant tusks are worth – the question that sits behind the entire ivory poaching crisis.

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Different species Visit elephants

Best Places to See Elephants in India

India is home to more wild Asian elephants than any other country on earth. Roughly 60 percent of the world’s Asian elephant population walks its forests – from the grasslands of Kaziranga in the northeast to the tea country of Kerala in the south. For anyone who wants to see wild Asian elephants in their native range, India is the best country to do it.

There are around 27,000 wild elephants in India, spread across 32 designated Elephant Reserves. The best places to see them are Kaziranga National Park (Assam), Periyar (Kerala), Nagarhole and Bandipur (Karnataka), Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu), Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand), and Wayanad (Kerala). Sightings are most reliable between October and June, outside the monsoon, and elephants should always be observed on jeep or boat safaris – not at rides or temple performances.

This guide covers the best national parks and wildlife reserves for seeing elephants in India, when to visit each one, what to expect, and how to avoid the unethical tourist traps that still exist around elephant rides, temple elephants, and overcrowded camps.

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Visit elephants

Best Elephant Experience in the US: Sanctuaries and Zoos

Elephants at Fresno Zoo
Elephant area at Fresno Zoo. Photo by Daniel Jerez.

Seeing elephants in person is unforgettable. In the US, the options have changed significantly over the past decade – circuses with elephants have been phased out, elephant rides are no longer offered at zoos or theme parks, and the responsible options now fall into two clear buckets: accredited sanctuaries and AZA-accredited zoos with proper elephant habitats.

The best elephant experiences in the US are at accredited sanctuaries (The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, Performing Animal Welfare Society in California, Elephant Refuge North America in Georgia) and AZA-accredited zoos with large elephant habitats (San Diego Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Columbus Zoo, among others). Most sanctuaries are not open for public visits, but many offer livestreams, virtual tours, and open-house days. Elephant rides are no longer offered anywhere in the US, and this is a good thing for elephant welfare.

This guide covers every major US sanctuary with elephants, the AZA zoos with the best elephant habitats, why elephant rides are no longer available (and shouldn’t be), and what ethical elephant viewing actually looks like in 2026.

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Elephant behaviors

Are Elephants Smart? Intelligence, Memory & Leadership Lessons

An Elephant leads by example. Strong Elephant in a forest.
An Elephant leads by example. Strong Elephant in a forest. Image source: Pixabay.

We investigate the natural world for ideas about what it takes to run a business effectively. For example, we can learn from wolves how important collaboration is, chameleons show us that being adaptable matters, and ants remind us of the value of hard work.

Likewise, we can also learn leadership lessons from elephants.

Elephants are known for their intelligence, social behavior, and strong leadership skills, which can be a valuable source of guidance for human leaders.

By observing the behavior and characteristics of elephants, we can learn important lessons on how to be effective and successful leaders.

For example, we can learn the importance of leading by example and fostering a strong team, as well as the value of effective communication, adaptability, and care for our team members.

By following these lessons by elephants leading in the animal kingdom, human leaders can improve their leadership skills and achieve success in their roles.

Elephants are also the largest living land mammal. Read on to learn the top 6 Leadership Lessons that we can derive from Elephants.

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Anatomy Elephants in the wild Questions & Answers (FAQs)

Elephant Lifespan: How Long Do Elephants Live?

Elephants are one of the longest-lived land mammals on earth. They grow up slowly, breed slowly, and live long enough to develop the kind of memory, social structure, and cultural knowledge that only a few species ever do. But how long do elephants actually live – and why does captivity so often cut their lifespan short?

Wild elephants live around 60 to 70 years on average, with some individuals reaching their late 70s. African bush elephants and Asian elephants have broadly similar lifespans in the wild. Elephants in captivity typically live shorter lives – usually 15 to 40 years – though sanctuary conditions are significantly better than zoo or circus environments. The oldest documented elephant lived to around 86 years old.

This guide breaks down elephant lifespan by species, by environment (wild vs zoo vs sanctuary), by life stage, and by the threats and health issues that shorten their lives. It also covers how scientists actually measure an elephant’s age, the oldest elephants on record, and what elephant lifespan looks like compared to other animals.

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