---
title: "Asian Elephant"
description: "Elephas maximus — Mammals. The Asian elephant, also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species in the genus Elephas."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/asian-elephant
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Asian Elephant

> Elephas maximus — Mammals. The Asian elephant, also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species in the genus Elephas.

- Scientific name: *Elephas maximus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `zoo` (Zoo & pets), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 11110
- Wikidata: [Q133006](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133006)
- iNaturalist taxon: [43697](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43697)

## Names

- en: Asian Elephant
- de: Asiatischer Elefant
- es: Elefante Asiático
- fr: Éléphant d'Asie
- nl: Aziatische olifant
- pt: Elefante-asiático
- pl: Słoń indyjski

## Countries with the most observations

IN (2517), LK (2374), TH (1136), MY (939), NP (139), CN (80), ID (58), VN (13), KH (8), BT (6), BD (5), MM (4)

## Summary

The Asian elephant, also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species in the genus Elephas. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living elephantid in the world. It is characterised by its long trunk with a single finger-like process; large tusks in males; laterally folded large ears and wrinkled grey skin that is partly depigmented on the trunk, ears or neck. Adult males average 4 t in weight and females 2.7 t. It has a large and well developed neocortex of the brain, is highly intelligent and self-aware, being able to display behaviours…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_elephant

## Photo

![Asian Elephant](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/asian-elephant/medium.jpg)

Photo: laiet17 · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67778873

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/asian-elephant?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).