easy short essay on elephant

Essay on Elephant for Students and Children

500+ words essay on elephant.

Elephants are quite large animals . They have four legs which resemble large pillars. They have two ears which are like big fans. Elephants have a special body part which is their trunk. In addition, they have a short tail. The male elephant has two teeth which are quite long and are referred to as tusks.

Elephants are herbivorous and feed on leaves, plants, grains, fruits and more. They are mostly found in Africa and Asia. Most of the elephants are grey in color, however, in Thailand, they have white elephants.

In addition, elephants are one of the longest-lived animals with an average lifespan of around 5-70 years. But, the oldest elephant to ever live passed away at the age of 86 years.

Furthermore, they mostly inhabit jungles but humans have forced them to work in zoos and circuses. Elephants are considered to be one of the most intelligent animals.

Similarly, they are quite obedient too. Usually, the female elephants live in groups but the male ones prefer solitary living. Additionally, this wild animal has great learning capacity. Humans use them for transport and entertainment purposes. Elephants are of great importance to the earth and mankind. Thus, we must protect them to not create an imbalance in nature’s cycle.

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Importance of Elephants

Elephants come in the group of most intelligent creatures. They are capable of quite strong emotions. These creatures have earned the respect of people of Africa that share the landscape with them. This gives them a great cultural significance. Elephants are tourism magnets for mankind. In addition, they also play a great role in maintaining the biodiversity of the ecosystems.

Most importantly, elephants are also significant for wildlife. They dig for water in the dry season with their tusks. It helps them survive the dry environment and droughts and also helps other animals to survive.

In addition, the elephants of the forest create gaps in the vegetation while eating. The gaps created enables the growth of new plants as well as pathways for smaller animals. This method also helps in dispersal of seeds by trees.

Furthermore, even elephant dung is beneficial. The dung they leave contains seeds of plants they have consumed. This, in turn, helps the birth of new grasses, bushes, and even trees. Thus, they also boost the health of the savannah ecosystem.

Endangerment of Elephants

Elephants have found their way on the list of endangered species. Selfish human activities have caused this endangerment. One of the biggest reasons for their endangerment is the illegal killing of elephants. As their body parts are very profitable, humans kill them off for their skin, bones, tusks, and more.

Moreover, humans are wiping out the natural habitat of elephants i.e. the forests. This results in a lack of food, area to live, and resources to survive. Similarly, hunting and poaching just for the thrill of it also cause the death of elephants.

Therefore, we see how humans are the main reason behind their endangerment. In other words, we must educate the public about the importance of elephants. Conservation efforts must be taken aggressively to protect them. In addition, poachers must be arrested to stop killing of the endangered species.

FAQs on Essay on Elephant

Q.1 Why are Elephants important?

A.1 Elephants are important not only to humans but wildlife and vegetation too. They provide sources of water for other animals in the dry season. Their eating method helps in the growth of new plants. They maintain the balance of the savannah ecosystem.

Q.2 Why is endangerment of elephants harmful?

A.2 Human activities have caused endangerment of elephants. Extinction of these animals will create an imbalance in the ecosystem gravely. We must take steps to stop this endangerment so they can be protected from extinction.

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• Essay on Elephant

Writing an Essay on Elephant

Elephants are animals that belong to the Elephantidae family (which includes mammoths) and can be found all over the world. Elephants are one of the world's largest land animals, with populations spanning Asia and Africa's forests and deserts. Elephants are known to be highly intelligent and social animals, similar to primates and humans, and are regarded as the most lovable creatures and valued by various cultures around the world.

Long Elephant Essay in English

Animals of different forms can be found all over the world. Some are quite large, while others are quite small. The elephant is the world's largest and most powerful mammal.

It has thick legs, massive sides and back, large hanging ears, a short tail, small eyes, long white tusks, and, most notably, a long nose known as the trunk. Elephants have the biggest brain of any terrestrial animal, measuring four times the size of a human brain.

On the head and back, an elephant's skin can be as thick as 2.5-4 cm. The skin is greyish black in colour. On the forehead, top section of the trunk, and ears, there is depigmentation. The skin is silky and supple while being dry due to the lack of sweat glands. To compensate for evaporative heat loss, the heavily wrinkled skin absorbs water and helps keep surface moisture. This is especially important during droughts.

Elephants have 1.5-2 inch length and 1-inch broad eyes. Because of the location of the eyeball, the existence of the trunk and ear, as well as the short neck, the field of vision is limited to just 30-50 metres. When an elephant detects danger, it alternates its body movements from side to side to see behind it rather than travelling straight forward. However, this is offset by exceptionally strong olfactory and hearing abilities.

Elephants have six sets of teeth during their lives. At any one time, there are four teeth in the mouth, two in the lower jaw and two in the upper jaw. If two teeth in the same alveolar pocket are visible at the same time, the front one is the worn-out old tooth and the posterior one is the new tooth. Elephants are the only mammals to migrate their teeth in this way; in other species, the milk teeth are shed as the permanent teeth sprout.

The elephant's trunk is a unique characteristic that it employs in a variety of ways. The trunk is the upper lip that has been changed. It may be used to drink, dress food, and even as a snorkel. The food is also grasped by the trunk, which transports it to the mouth for mastication. Because the tongue cannot be protruded, the food is placed on the tongue by the dextrous trunk. In elephants, the trunk also serves as an olfactory organ, which is a highly evolved mode of communication. By touching the object and inserting the tip into the mouth, it may be used to test different odours. Threatening gestures and play fighting are also done with the trunk. It spreads its trunk forth during pretend charges, but it keeps its trunk tucked in during real charges. An elephant foal can lift roughly 4.5 per cent of its weight with its trunk, whereas an adult elephant can lift about 270 kg. It draws water up by it and can squirt it all over its body like a shower bath, and it collects leaves from trees and eats them. Elephants have a clumsy and bulky appearance.

Elephants can be found in India and Africa. Most zoologists identify two elephant species: the Asian elephant and the African elephant, both of which live on different continents and have distinct characteristics. According to National Geographic, African elephants can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and West African rainforests, and Mali's Sahel desert. Scrub forests and rainforests are home to Asian elephants in Nepal, India, and Southeast Asia.

The African elephant is heavier, tougher, and has longer tusks and larger ears than the Indian elephant. The two are thought to be separate species.

They live in herds in the jungles of both countries, are shy, and avoid people. The elephant is a highly intelligent species of animal, and its strength and intellect make it a valuable companion of humans. It can be taught to serve in a variety of capacities. The trained elephant will kneel, use its tusks to raise a heavy log of wood, bring it to the desired spot, and position it precisely in place.

African elephants, both male and female, are known to have large tusks and two "fingers" at the end of their trunks to assist them in picking up objects from the ground or trees. At the end of their trucks, Asian elephants just have a single "finger." Only male Asian elephants have big tusks, and only a few females and males have smaller tusks that don't often develop outside the mouth.

Elephants are also used to hunt tigers. On the back of the elephant, the hunter is in the ‘howdah,' which is pushed and led by the driver, ‘Mahawat.'

Elephants were used in wars in the past, and armies had their regiments of trained warrior elephants. They can still be seen in state processions. A large number of elephants are captured alive to be tamed and trained.

According to a Scientific American article, elephants are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, and they have been found to have varying degrees of problem-solving abilities, as well as the capacity to display and experience empathy, mourning, and self-awareness.

However, capturing elephants alive is challenging and dangerous work because, while the elephant is a shy, wild animal but when left alone when threatened, it can be a dangerous opponent.

The Asian elephant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Although the exact population of Asian elephants is unknown, experts believe that the population is declining.

According to the IUCN, the African elephant is considered endangered, and its population is growing. According to the African wildlife Foundation (AWF), there are about 415,000 wild African elephants.

Elephants are extremely beneficial to men and their employment. Elephants are hunted in a few areas mostly for their tusks, which are made of ivory and are extremely valuable. The hunting of elephants is forbidden by statute. To maintain a balanced world, we must protect them.

Short Essay on Elephant

Elephants are the world's biggest and most magnificent land animals. They seem to be both gigantic and modest. Elephants are my favourite animal because they are both grounded and overly sweet. No other animal comes close to resembling them with their snake-like long noses or trunks, big, floppy ears, and thick trunk-like legs.

Tusks are large, deep-rooted teeth-like structures that evolved to help elephants dig, raise, gather food, and defend themselves while also protecting their trunks. Elephants can have either right or left-tusked tusks, similar to how humans can have either left or right-handed tusks.

Elephant herds have a matriarchal system, with the eldest female in charge. Herds are made up of 6 to 20 members, depending on the food source, and consist mainly of female family members and young calves. Herds also break into smaller groups that remain in the same region when the family becomes too large.

They eat soft green grass, grains, bread, bananas, sugar cane, flowers, and the stem of the banana tree, among other things, since they are herbivores.

An adult elephant spends nearly sixteen to eighteen hours a day, or nearly 70% to 80% of their waking hours, feeding. And they consume between 90 and 272 kg of food per day.

Depending on their size, they need approximately 60 to 100 litres of water per day. An adult male, on the other hand, can drink up to 200 litres of water per day.

The African female elephant has a gestation period of 22 months, while the Asian elephant has a gestation period of 18 to 22 months, depending on their lifestyle.

Elephants often pay careful attention to the protection and well-being of all members of their herd and will do everything they can to protect and care for vulnerable or wounded members.

FAQs on Essay on Elephant

1. What is the Normal Lifespan of an Elephant?

Wild elephants have a longer lifespan than their zoo counterparts. In the wild, Asian elephants can live up to 60 years while African elephants can live up to 70 years. Elephants in zoos have the lowest lifespans. Pachyderms in European zoos die far sooner than those in protected wildlife reserves in Africa and Asia, according to six-year research. Captivity, according to researchers, has a major negative impact on elephants' mental health, to the point that stress can lead to early death.

2. How Much Does an Elephant Eat?

It is said that an elephant eats 100kg of food per day. They can drink up to 100 litres of water on average. This is commensurate with the body mass of an elephant, which, for an adult Asian male is 4000 Kg and for an African male is 6000 Kg. Elephants have been known to eat for up to 16 hours a day. In the wild, a single animal may devour up to 600 pounds of food in a single day, however, the average is 250–300 pounds. A normal adult elephant in a zoo may consume 4-5 bales of hay and 10–18 pounds (4.5–8 kg) of grain per day. This equates to more than 29,000 kg of hay and 2700 kg of feed for each animal per year. The average daily water usage per animal is 25–50 gallons (100–200 litres). Elephants only digest their food at a rate of less than 50%. Because of the large amount of food consumed and the inefficiency of the digestive system, there is a lot of manure - a lot of manure. An elephant defecates 12 to 15 times each day, resulting in a daily volume of 220 to 250 pounds.

3. How Many Bones are there in an Elephant's Trunk?

Even though the trunk is the most versatile part of an elephant’s body used for smelling, breathing, grasping, lifting, touching, and making sounds, it is to be noted that there are no bones in it. It consists of 40,000 plus muscles! The elephant's skeleton accounts for around 16.5 per cent of its entire body weight. There are 282 bones in an adult female Asian elephant. The cranium, which is dimensionally huge and weighs 52 kilograms on average, is not as hefty as it appears due to the vast number of sinuses present. It consists of 51 bones, each of which is aerated by sinuses. The vertebral column is made up of 61 bones, with the longest rib reaching a length of 96.5 cm.

The elephant's cervical bone is relatively short. This is why elephants can't bend their necks and gaze backwards, making them uncomfortable when something approaches from behind. They can stand for lengthy periods and sustain their massive body weight because of their nearly vertical limbs. The bones are aligned in a straight line, like a pillar, giving strong support for the massive body. Elephants cannot jump due to the vertical position of their feet, although they may hop and leap. On particularly small sections of land, they can also move forward and backwards. The thigh bone is the body's biggest bone. The femur of an adult animal is 114.3 cm long (thigh bone).

4. Why are Elephants Endangered?

Poachers kill about 20,000 elephants every single year for their tusks, which are then traded illegally in the international market to eventually end up as ivory trinkets. This trade is mostly driven by the demand for ivory in parts of Asia. The biggest threat to Asian and African elephants is the same for all species throughout the world: habitat loss and fragmentation. However, many elephants suffer additional threats, including direct and indirect human conflict. Humans are encroaching on elephants in both Africa and Asia, but the impact on Asian elephants is highly problematic. Agriculture, logging, highways, and construction for residential or commercial usage are all reducing and fragmenting their habitats. Elephants are migratory creatures that require wide, contiguous areas to survive, and this tendency deprives them of essential resources such as food and water. By separating communities from one another, it can also decrease genetic diversity. Last century, many elephant populations declined as a result of excessive poaching, fueled mostly by a desire for their ivory tusks. While the International Convention on the Trading in Endangered Species (CITES) prohibited international ivory trade in 1989, authorized ivory markets have persisted in several nations, aided by a growing black market and well-armed poaching gangs. Elephants are threatened practically everywhere, but according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the majority of illegal ivory presently originates from African elephants, where poachers murder hundreds of elephants each year.

5. Are Elephants Intelligent Species?

Elephants are a highly intelligent species as they have been seen performing well in problem-solving abilities and protecting their herd from dangers. Conventional knowledge believes that elephants are among the most intellectual, socially expressive, and emotionally complex non-human creatures. This widely believed belief is founded on both mythology and decades of scientific inquiry. Elephant intelligence remarked on captive elephants' astonishing capacity to work with minimal training as well as their ability to operate as a team. He regarded elephants with the capacity to predict what would happen if they pushed and dragged big logs into a vehicle, for example, because of their exceptional balance and synchrony.

6. What are the Elephant Tusks?

Their teeth structures are made of ivory which is deeply rooted and has evolved to help elephants in cutting and protecting their trunk. Tusks are the lateral incisors of an animal that continue to develop throughout its life. They appear on the sides of the trunk's base. Nearly half of the tusk, starting at the base, is hollow, containing tusk pulp. It's formed of dentine and has a shiny white enamel finish on the outside. Tusks are utilised for digging, transporting burdens, debarking trees, fighting, and displaying behaviour. Female Asian elephants do not have tusks, but instead have tushes, which are smaller and tougher than the tusks. Male Asian elephants are also known as makhnas since they lack tusks. Almost all elephants have different tusk appearances. They grow 15-20 cm in length each year on average.

Essay on Elephant for Students and Children [100,150,200 Words]

Essay on Elephant: Elephant is the biggest animal on earth. In this article, you are going to learn how to write an essay or paragraph on elephant in English. We’ve included 3 essays (100, 150, 200 words) on elephant in this post. These essays will be helpful for the students as well as children. So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Essay on Elephant: 100 Words

The elephant is one of the largest animals. Its natural habitat is thick jungle. Most of the elephants are found in the deep forests of Africa, Burma (Myanmar), India etc. But tamed elephants are very useful to man.

It has thick legs, a huge body, large ears, small eyes, great white tusks, a long trunk and a small tail. It uses its trunk like a hand. The elephant picks things up with its trunk and puts them into its mouth. It sucks water with its trunk. They are trained to draw heavy loads and to do many other useful works.

Essay on Elephant: 150 Words

The elephant is declared the heritage animal of India. This is a just appreciation of the largest of all animals in India. This honor is also due to this animal for various reasons.

First, in Indian religion and legendary accounts, this is highly honored. Elephant’s head forms the head of lord Ganapati who is worshipped before all other deities.

Moreover, this is perhaps the largest of all animals and quiet by nature. In Indian legends, elephants are also described as effectively used on battle-fields. In a good many parts of the land, this is tamed and made to work to please and serve human needs.

Even a dead elephant is costly enough. Its ivory tusks are very valuable. Its strong bones are used to form costly combs, buttons and other luxury goods. In fact, this animal is held in our land as a symbol of love and friendship. Preservation of this species is an urgent necessity.

Elephant Essay in English: 200 Words

The elephant is the strongest and biggest animal on earth. It is dark gray in color. It is one of the most intelligent animals. Elephants can live up to 70 years. They travel in family groups called herds. Elephants can be trained and used for various purposes.

The eyes of the elephants are very tiny. They have two enormous ears, two strong and sharp white tusks, four legs, a long trunk, and a short tail. Elephants use their long trunks to suck up water and squirt it into their mouth. They also use their trunk for breathing, smelling, touching, feeding, lifting objects, etc.

An Elephant is a herbivorous animal. An elephant eats leaves, grass, nuts, fruits, and bark of trees. Male elephants are called bulls and female elephants are called cows.

There are two types of elephants, Asian and African. Asian elephants are smaller than Africans with smaller ears and tusks. Asian elephants live in India Nepal and southeast Asia in Rain forests. African elephants   are found throughout the savannas of Africa, the rainforests of Central and West Africa.

As the largest of all land mammals, African elephants play an important role in balancing natural ecosystems. Unfortunately, elephants are disappearing fast due to habitat loss, poaching etc. The tusks of elephants are made of ivory for which Elephants have always been hunted. It is our duty to protect our heritage animal.

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I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation for the informative and captivating blog on the essay on elephants. This blog brilliantly captures the essence of these majestic creatures, providing valuable insights into their physical attributes, behavior, and significance in various cultures.

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Essay On Elephant For Children And Students In English

• Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Elephant
• 10 Lines On Elephant
• Paragraph On Elephant
• Short Essay On Elephant
• Long Essay On Elephant

Interesting Facts About Elephant For Kids

What will your kid learn from this essay.

Elephants, the majestic creatures that roam the Earth, are the largest land animals and possess a remarkable intelligence and memory that captivates both young and old alike. Writing an essay on elephants is an engaging activity for children and a valuable tool for developing their writing skills and fine motor coordination.    

Additionally, essay writing is a crucial skill that children must develop from an early age. It helps them organise their thoughts, express themselves clearly, and improve their language skills. Engaging in this activity can also enhance their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. We help teach kids how to write an essay for grades 1, 2, and 3!   

Key Points To Remember When Writing An Essay On Elephant   

There are a few essential points that your child needs to remember while writing an elephant essay in English:   

• The first step is to let your child structure the ideas (in the head) they want to write about elephants.
• In the second step, let your child note the ideas to form an outline to cover all the points while composing the essay.
• They will form easy-to-read short and simple sentences from the pointers in the third step.
• Encourage your child not to get too deep describing any single idea. It will help them to stick to the count of words.
• Help your child write with the rhythm, making them enjoy writing the essay.
• Your child can write about how an elephant looks, its special features, eating habits, etc.

10 Lines On Elephant   

Here is an example of how you can write ten lines about an elephant:   

• Elephants are the largest animals on land.
• Elephants have huge bodies.
• They have wide legs like pillars.
• Elephants are grey in colour.
• Elephants have large floppy ears like fans.
• They have a large trunk.
• They grab food and suck water with their trunk.
• They can also lift heavy weights with the help of the trunk.
• Elephants’ tusks are teeth.
• Elephants are herbivores.

Paragraph On Elephant 

Elephants are the largest animals on land. They have a huge body with wide legs that look like pillars. Their tusks appear when they are around two years old. The tusks keep growing throughout their lives. They have thick skin that helps them maintain water in the body. The long trunk of elephants helps them in many ways. They can suck in water with their trunks and use it to grab food. Elephants also use their trunk as a snorkel while swimming and can also lift heavy weights with their trunk. Elephants are very intelligent and shy, but they turn dangerous when they feel threatened.

Short Essay On Elephant 

Elephants are special in many ways. They have a huge body with four legs that are so wide that they look like pillars. The ears are large and floppy. The two tusks we see are the two front teeth. They have 26 teeth in total. The tusks help elephants dig mud, shovel heavy logs of wood, etc. Their thick skin allows them to maintain water in the body. The trunk is a unique physical characteristic of elephants. An extension of their nose fuses with their upper lip and modifies into this long structure. Elephants use the trunk to grab food, suck up water to drink, trumpet, greet, caress baby elephants, etc. The elephant’s trunk is the most sensitive organ found in any mammal.

Long Essay On Elephant 

Elephants are the largest animals on land. They are huge mammals living on Earth for millions of years. They weigh a few thousand kilos. Even newborn elephants weigh around 120 kilos. The four legs of elephants are so vast, that they look like trunks of trees. Their ears are large like fans and help them stay cool. The tusks of elephants are the two front teeth that start growing when an elephant is two years old. They have 26 teeth in total. Elephants use the tusks to dig mud, lift objects, to strip the bark of trees so that they can eat the fibrous inner part. They also use the tusks as a defence.

The trunk is another unique feature of elephants. It is the extension of the nose, and it fuses with the upper lip. Elephants use it in many ways. They suck in water and drink it with the help of the trunk. They also use it to put food into their mouth. They also use the trunk to trumpet and warn other elephants when they sense any danger. The trunk is the most sensitive organ found in any mammal. An elephant can use it to pick a nut, shell it, blow the shell out and eat the nut. Elephants also use the trunk as a snorkel while swimming. They have thick skin, which helps with maintaining moisture. Elephants live in herds. They are calm by nature, but they become aggressive when threatened. These animals are full of emotions and have deep family bonds. They even cry. Sometimes when baby elephants cry, the other elephants in the group caress them with their trunk to comfort the baby elephant.

Importance Of Elephants For The Environment

Elephants spend most of the time eating and creating gaps in the vegetation. The gaps help grow new plants and create pathways for smaller animals. Elephant dung is also beneficial for the environment, and the waste contains seeds of plants they have consumed. As a result, it gives birth to new plants, bushes, and trees.

What Will Happen If Elephants Go Extinct?

Humans engage in illegal activities concerning elephants. They kill them for ivory. Baby elephants are illegally taken away and sold or gifted to temples where they are kept as captives all their life. If elephants go extinct, the whole ecosystem will stop flourishing and, in some places, collapse entirely.

• A baby elephant weighs as much as 90-100 kilos.   
• The trunk of elephants is the most sensitive organ among all mammals. It can pick up a nut, shell it, blow it away, and eat it.   
• Elephants have a powerful memory. They can remember things for tens of years, sometimes their whole lifetime.   
• Elephants hug each other with their trunks when they face tough times.   
• Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. African elephants can reach up to 13 feet tall and weigh up to 14,000 pounds !   
• Elephants have large ears that are shaped like the African continent. Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears.   
• Elephants are herbivores and spend up to 18 hours a day eating. An adult elephant can eat over 300 pounds of food per day!   
• Elephants are excellent swimmers and can use their trunk as a snorkel to breathe underwater.   
• Elephants are very social animals. They live in family groups called herds and use their trunks to greet and show affection to each other. 

When your child writes a composition on an elephant, they will learn about this beautiful and graceful animal. They know about the physical characteristics of elephants. Also, they learn about these huge animals’ mental and emotional speciality .    

1. What are the benefits of essay writing for kids? 

Essay writing teaches kids the following skills:   

• Critical thinking and problem-solving   
• Creative expression and imagination   
• Organisational and writing abilities   
• Communication and self-reflection   

2. How can kids make their elephant essays more engaging? 

Using these tips, children can make their essay on elephant essays more engaging:   

• Using descriptive language to describe the elephant’s physical features vividly   
• Incorporating interesting elephant behaviours and habits, like their feeding and social rituals   
• Explaining the essential role elephants play in their ecosystems and for humans   
• Adding personal anecdotes or experiences the child has had with elephants   
• Including relevant images, diagrams or other visuals to support the written content   

We hope the above write-up on elephants will help your child write a beautiful essay on elephants. We have made sure to keep the language simple for the little ones to understand.

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• Paragraph Writing
• Paragraph On Elephant

Paragraph on Elephant - Check Samples for 100, 150, 200, 250 Words

Elephants are the biggest land animals found on the planet. They exist in dense forests and are popularly found in the forests of Asia and Africa. Elephants are known to be one of the most socially evolved mammals in the world. Among all the terrestrial animals, elephants have the biggest brain, four times larger than a human’s brain; therefore, they are highly intelligent. This article will help you learn more about elephants and also how to write a simple paragraph on elephants.

Table of Contents

Paragraph on elephant in 100 words, paragraph on elephant in 150 words, paragraph on elephant in 200 words, paragraph on elephant in 250 words, frequently asked questions on paragraph on elephant.

Elephants are the biggest terrestrial animals. They are found mostly in dense forests and are always found in groups. The elephants are black in colour with a small tail, two big ears, thick legs, a trunk, and two little eyes. The teeth of elephants are very costly and are referred to as tusks. Elephants eat twigs, leaves, fruits, etc. and are herbivores. In ancient times people used elephants in wars, for lifting heavy logs from grounds, for felling trees, etc. Elephants are the strongest and most intelligent animals and are, therefore, very useful to human beings.

Elephants are considered to be the largest land animals on earth, with enormous black bodies and white tusks. The legs of the elephants are like pillars, and the two big ears are like fans. Elephants have two small and beautiful eyes and a small tail. The trunk is the longest body part that helps the elephant eat, pick things, etc. It also works as an olfactory organ for them. Elephants are mostly found in herds in dense forests. They are herbivores and eat twigs, leaves, fruits, etc. Many people tame elephants and feed them with bread, bananas, etc. Elephants are the strongest animals and are highly intelligent. Therefore, they are good companions to human beings as well. Elephants can be a man’s best friend and are the most dangerous ones at times.

Elephants are the largest terrestrial animals that are found in the dense forests of Asia and Africa. Elephants are wild animals that are always found in herds. They are very intelligent and social animals. They never leave their herds, and if any one member is lost, they give all their efforts to find the missing friend. Elephants have huge black bodies with tiny tails. Elephants have two small and beautiful eyes and two big ears which keep moving like big fans. The legs of elephants are like pillars of a building, and the most interesting part is their trunk which helps them in drinking water, bathing, eating, smelling, etc. They can pick heavy logs and push and break trees with the help of the trunk.  They are considered to be very faithful and friendly animals to human beings.

Do you know which animal is considered the national animal of Thailand? Well, it is the all-mighty ‘elephant’.  Elephants are considered to be the world’s largest terrestrial mammals, commonly found in the deep forests of Asia and Africa. They are therefore classified as Asian elephants (commonly known as the Indian elephant) and African elephants. Asian elephants are comparatively smaller in size than African elephants. Elephants are among the smartest and most social animals on the planet. They never leave their herds, and if one of them goes missing, they make every attempt to locate it. Elephants are herbivorous animals; they eat leaves, twigs, fruits and vegetables. If you look into the number of elephants found all around the world, you will see a rapid decrease. While the numbers of African elephants are mostly unaffected, the number of Asian elephants is coming down day by day. In order to protect endangered species, various laws have been passed regarding the possession and rearing of elephants for various purposes. There were places where people domesticated elephants and reared them as pets. This, however, is not accepted anymore. Elephants, from the very beginning, have been helpful in transporting heavy goods and people from one place to another, which is also not encouraged or allowed anymore. It is each and every individual’s responsibility to make sure that these animals get to live their lives in their natural habitats and not how human beings decide.

How are elephants important?

Elephants are not only beneficial to humans but also to other animals and the environment. Human beings used elephants for transportation, lifting heavy objects, wars, etc. previously.  They also help maintain the ecological balance.

Why are elephants endangered?

Elephants are endangered due to illegal killing, train accidents, etc. There are laws that have been imposed to bring this into control and save the endangering species, which has now led to a decrease in such cases.

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Essay on Elephants

Introduction to Elephants

Elephants, majestic giants of the animal kingdom, embody a profound cultural and ecological significance globally. Revered in numerous societies, particularly in Asia, where they hold religious and symbolic importance, elephants have served as mythical creatures and practical assets throughout history. Today, they face critical challenges such as habitat loss, poaching, and conflicts with human development, threatening their survival. Despite these threats, conservation efforts strive to protect these gentle giants, highlighting the intricate balance between human progress and wildlife preservation. Understanding elephants involves delving into their symbolic, historical, and environmental roles, reflecting on our shared responsibility toward their future.

Anatomy and Physical Characteristics

Elephants are incredibly unique creatures, both in their anatomy and physical characteristics. Here are some key points you might consider covering:

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Behavior and Social Structure

Elephants, the largest land mammals, are known for their complex behavior and intricate social structures. They exhibit intelligence and close bonds essential for their survival.

• Communication: Elephants communicate through vocalizations, body language , and seismic signals. Their low-frequency rumbles can be heard across great distances, and they trumpet and roar. They use these rumbles for various purposes, including coordinating movements, maintaining group cohesion, and signaling distress or reproductive readiness.
• Emotional Intelligence: Elephants display a remarkable level of emotional intelligence. They exhibit behaviors indicative of empathy , such as comforting distressed individuals and mourning deceased companions. Elephants have shown signs of grief, lingering near the remains of deceased herd members and even covering them with leaves and branches.
• Problem-Solving and Tool Use: Elephants are capable of problem-solving and using tools. Observers have seen them using branches to swat flies, create shade, or scratch themselves. Their ability to learn from experience and modify their behavior highlights their cognitive capabilities.
• Play and Social Learning: Young elephants engage in play, which is crucial for their social and physical development. Play behaviors include mock fights, chasing, and trunk wrestling. Young elephants learn essential social skills through play and bond with their peers.

Social Structure

• Matriarchal Society: Elephant herds are typically matriarchal, led by the oldest and often most experienced female, the matriarch. The matriarch is essential to the herd’s direction, making movement decisions, finding water and food sources, and protecting the group from threats.
• Family Units: Elephant herds are composed of closely related females and their offspring. Female elephants usually live with their natal herd, creating robust, multi-generational family units. Male elephants, on the other hand, leave the herd upon reaching adolescence and either live solitary lives or form loosely associated bachelor groups.
• Allomothering: Older females assist in caring for other people’s calves, a process known as “allomothering” in elephant cultures. This cooperative care enhances the survival rate of the young and allows mothers to feed and rest, ensuring the well-being of the entire herd.
• Social Bonds and Hierarchies: Elephants maintain solid social bonds through frequent physical contact, such as touching trunks, entwining trunks, and leaning on each other. Age, experience, and social bonds often determine the social hierarchy within the herd. The matriarch holds the highest rank, followed by other adult females and their offspring.
• Male Social Structure: After leaving the natal herd, male elephants spend more solitary lives. However, they occasionally associate with other males. These associations, known as bachelor groups, are usually fluid and based on factors such as age, size, and reproductive status. During musth, a period of heightened sexual activity and aggression, males become more competitive and may challenge each other for mating rights.

Habitat and Distribution

Elephants, the largest land mammals, inhabit Africa and Asia, each with unique habitats and distributions specific to African and Asian elephant species.

African Elephants

• Habitat: African elephants thrive in diverse environments, including savannas, forests, deserts, and marshes. They are incredibly adaptable, which allows them to live in varied climates, from the rainforests of Central Africa to the dry regions of the Sahel.
• Distribution: African elephants inhabit sub-Saharan Africa, with significant populations in Botswana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa. There are two subspecies of African elephants: the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), found in open grasslands and woodlands, and the forest elephant (Loxodonta Cyclotis), which inhabits the dense rainforests of Central and West Africa. These elephants’ distribution primarily influences factors such as the availability of food and water and human activities such as agriculture and urban development.

Asian Elephants

• Habitat: Asian elephants primarily inhabit forested regions, including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, dry deciduous forests, and grasslands. They depend more on forested environments than their African counterparts and are typically found in regions with dense vegetation providing ample food and cover.
• Distribution: The range of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) extends across 13 countries in South and Southeast Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo). The largest populations are found in India, home to more than half of the world’s Asian elephants. Their distribution is increasingly fragmented due to habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and poaching, resulting in isolated populations vulnerable to genetic bottlenecks and other conservation challenges.

Diet and Feeding Habits

Understanding diet and feeding habits provides insight into elephants’ ecological role as large herbivores in their ecosystems:  

Elephants are herbivorous mammals with a diverse diet primarily consisting of vegetation. Their diet typically includes:

• Grasses: Elephants feed on various grasses, which form a significant part of their diet, especially in savannah and grassland habitats.
• Leaves and Foliage: They consume various leaves from different plant species. They browse on tree leaves, shrubs, and other foliage in their habitats.
• Bark: In some cases, elephants also consume bark from trees. They may strip bark with their tusks and consume the inner layers, especially during dry seasons when other food sources are scarce.
• Fruits: In season, fruits are essential to an elephant’s diet. They consume various fruits, such as berries, melons, and other fleshy fruits within their range.

Feeding Habits

Elephants are known for their constant need to feed due to their large size and energy requirements. Key aspects of their feeding habits include:

• Foraging: Elephants spend a significant portion of their day foraging for food. They grasp and manipulate vegetation using their trunk and may also use their tusks to help access certain types of plants.
• Water Dependence: Elephants require large amounts of water daily. They are known to travel long distances to find water sources and may spend considerable time bathing and drinking.
• Feeding Patterns: Elephants frequently adapt their eating habits according to available food and water sources. During periods of scarcity, they may adjust their diet or travel longer distances to find suitable vegetation.
• Social Feeding: Elephants are social animals and often feed in groups. This social behavior can sometimes lead to cooperative feeding and sharing of food resources within their herd.
• Digestive Process: Their digestive system is adapted to process rigid plant material. Its complex process involves fermentation in the large intestine to extract nutrients from fibrous plant material.

Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities

Elephants are amazing animals with exceptional cognitive and intellectual capacities. Here are some points:

• Complex Social Structures: Elephants live in matriarchal herds led by the oldest female, showing sophisticated social structures akin to human societies.
• Exceptional Memory: Known for their long-term memory, elephants can remember distant locations of water sources and pathways, which is crucial for survival in their habitats.
• Tool Use and Problem-Solving: Elephants demonstrate tool use, such as using branches to swat insects or digging for water in dry riverbeds, indicating problem-solving abilities.
• Communication and Language: They communicate through various vocalizations, infrasound (low-frequency sounds), and body language, suggesting complex forms of communication.
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Elephants empathize with injured or distressed herd members, displaying emotional bonds and social cohesion within their groups.
• Self-Awareness: Studies, including mirror tests, suggest that elephants possess a self-awareness comparable to humans, recognizing themselves in reflections.
• Learning and Adaptation: They learn from experiences and can adapt to changing environments, demonstrating the adaptability of thought and the capacity for creativity in the face of difficulty.
• Problem-Solving Skills: In captivity, elephants have demonstrated their cognitive capabilities by solving puzzles and learning complex tasks.
• Numerical and Spatial Awareness: Elephants show numerical understanding, can distinguish between different quantities of items, and have a keen spatial awareness that aids navigation across vast territories.
• Creative Behaviors: Behaviors like creating protective sunscreens from mud or using tools in novel ways showcase their ability to innovate and adapt to their environment.

Cultural Significance of Elephants

Elephants symbolize power, wisdom, and cultural richness. They have spanned civilizations, from ancient warfare to ceremonial rituals, leaving an enduring legacy in human history and imagination.

1. Asian Elephants in Religious Contexts

• Hinduism: In Hindu mythology, Ganesha, the deity of wisdom, success , and the removal of obstacles, is often depicted with an elephant head, symbolizing knowledge and the power to overcome barriers.
• Buddhism: In Buddhism, the white elephant symbolizes mental strength, wisdom, and knowledge. It’s believed that Queen Maya, the mother of Buddha, dreamt of a white elephant before his birth, indicating his future greatness.

2. African Elephants

Folklore and Tribal Beliefs: African cultures view elephants as symbols of strength, power, and wisdom . People often portray them as wise creatures with spiritual significance in stories and myths.

3. Historical Roles

• War Elephants: Throughout history, elephants have been used in warfare by civilizations such as the Persians and Indians and later by Alexander the Great. Due to their size, strength, and ability to intimidate enemy forces, they provided a formidable advantage.
• Ceremonial Uses: Elephants have been central to royal and religious ceremonies in many cultures. In India, for example, they have been used in processions during festivals and important events, symbolizing grandeur and royalty.

Conservation Efforts and Challenges

The points highlight both the proactive measures and the ongoing challenges in the conservation of elephants globally:

• Habitat Loss: Human activities like agriculture, urbanization , and infrastructure development are causing elephants to lose much of their habitat.
• Human-Wildlife: Conflict arises when elephants encroach on human settlements, leading to retaliatory killings and habitat fragmentation.
• Poaching: People target elephants for their ivory tusks despite international bans on ivory trade. Poaching remains a severe threat to their survival.
• Legal Protection: International agreements to save elephants, like the CITES- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, aim to control and limit the ivory trade.
• Conservation Reserves and National Parks : Establishing protected areas helps provide safe habitats for elephants and other wildlife.
• Community Involvement: Participating local communities in conservation initiatives helps lessen hostility between people and wildlife and encourages sustainable lifestyles.
• Research and Monitoring: Effective conservation measures require a thorough understanding of elephant behavior, migration patterns, and population dynamics.
• Transboundary Conservation Initiatives: Collaborative efforts between countries are essential, as elephants often move across borders for food and water.
• Climate Change: Factors including temperature extremes and shifting rainfall patterns can disrupt elephant habitats and food sources.
• Education and Awareness: Raising public awareness of the value of protecting elephants and their dangers can help mobilize support for conservation initiatives.

Human-Elephant Interaction

The complex dynamics of human-elephant interaction emphasize the need for sustainable conservation practices and ethical considerations in tourism and captive management.

Conservation vs. Human Development Conflicts

• Habitat Loss: As human populations expand, natural habitats are increasingly converted for agriculture , urbanization, and infrastructure projects, reducing elephant habitats.
• Conflict Over Resources: Elephants often compete with humans for water and food, escalating tensions and conflicts.
• Human-Elephant Conflict: Elephant raids on crops can lead to retaliatory killings by farmers, exacerbating conservation challenges.

Elephant Tourism and Ethical Considerations

• Tourism Impact: Elephant tourism, encompassing rides and performances, raises ethical and animal welfare concerns.
• Physical and Psychological Impact: Captive elephants used for tourism may suffer from physical ailments due to workload and improper care, and they may also experience psychological distress from unnatural living conditions.
• Educational vs. Exploitative Tourism: Balancing educational benefits for visitors with the ethical treatment of elephants remains a critical challenge.

Captive Elephants and Welfare Concerns

• Living Conditions: Captive elephants may face inadequate living conditions, confinement, and lack of social interaction, which can impact their physical and mental well-being.
• Training Methods: Traditional training methods such as “breaking” can involve harsh techniques that cause distress and pain to elephants.
• Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Countries vary in their regulations governing captive elephants, influencing their welfare standards and treatment.

Elephants stand as majestic icons of cultural heritage and biodiversity conservation. Their symbolic significance spans civilizations, embodying wisdom, strength, and spirituality. However, their survival faces challenges from habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflicts. Conservation efforts must balance ecological needs with human development, emphasizing sustainable practices and ethical considerations in elephant tourism and captivity. As ambassadors of wilderness, elephants urge us to safeguard their habitats and respect their intrinsic value in our shared ecosystem. Preserving elephants means safeguarding a species and the integrity of our planet’s natural heritage for future generations.

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Elephant Essay in 10 lines, 100 & 1000 Words for Students

• Entrance Exams
• November 7, 2023

Elephant Essay – Elephants are remarkable creatures that have captured the fascination of humans for centuries. Known for their immense size, intelligence, and social behavior, elephants are among the most iconic and beloved animals on the planet.

In this essay, we will explore various aspects of elephants, including their biology, behavior, conservation efforts, and the challenges they face in the modern world.

In this we have given sample essays on Elephant in English in 10 Lines, 100, 500, 1000 Words. This article will you to learn more about elephants and also how to write simple paragraph or essay on elephants.

Writing an Elephant Essay in 500 Words

Writing an essay on elephants involves exploring various aspects of these magnificent creatures, including their biology, behavior, cultural significance, conservation efforts, and challenges they face. This essay should provide a comprehensive understanding of elephants, highlighting their intelligence, social structures, and the vital role they play in different cultures.

I. Introduction: The Majestic Elephant

Elephants, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom, have long captivated human imagination with their remarkable size, intelligence, and social behavior. In this essay, we will delve into the world of elephants, exploring their biology, behavior, cultural significance, conservation efforts, and the challenges they face.

II. Anatomy and Biology: Marvels of Nature

Elephants, belonging to the family Elephantidae, are the largest land animals on Earth. They are characterized by their elongated trunk, tusks (present in both male and female Asian elephants, and mainly in males of African elephants), and large, flapping ears. Their remarkable intelligence is evident in their large brains, complex social behaviors, and impressive problem-solving skills.

III. Behavior and Social Structure: The Complex Lives of Elephants

Elephants are known for their tight-knit family structures. They live in matriarchal herds led by the oldest and most experienced female, displaying strong social bonds. These intelligent beings exhibit empathy, compassion, and deep emotional connections, often mourning the loss of their fellow herd members.

IV. Cultural Significance: Elephants in Mythology and Religion

Throughout history, elephants have held immense cultural and religious significance in various societies. In Hinduism, the elephant-headed god Ganesha is revered as a symbol of wisdom and prosperity. In African cultures, elephants are often associated with strength, power, and wisdom. Their iconic status is reflected in art, literature, and religious practices worldwide.

V. Conservation Efforts: Protecting Elephants for Future Generations

Despite their revered status, elephants face numerous threats, including habitat loss, poaching for ivory, and human-wildlife conflict. Conservation organizations and governments worldwide are actively engaged in efforts to protect these majestic creatures. Initiatives include establishing protected reserves, combating illegal wildlife trade, and raising awareness about the importance of elephant conservation.

VI. Challenges and Solutions: Ensuring the Future of Elephants

While progress has been made, challenges persist. Striking a balance between human development and wildlife conservation is essential. Encouraging responsible tourism, supporting local communities living near elephant habitats, and strengthening anti-poaching efforts are crucial steps toward ensuring the survival of elephants.

VII. Conclusion: A Call to Action

In conclusion, elephants are not merely animals; they are symbols of wisdom, strength, and resilience. It is our collective responsibility to protect these magnificent creatures for future generations. By understanding their importance, raising awareness, and supporting conservation initiatives, we can secure a brighter future for elephants, preserving their legacy on our planet. Let us unite in our efforts to ensure that elephants continue to roam the Earth, enchanting us with their grace and grandeur.

Also See – Pongal Festival Essay – 10 Lines, 100 & 500 Words

About Elephants in 10 lines

Elephants are large, gentle animals with a long trunk and big ears. They are known for their strength and intelligence. Elephants are herbivores, eating plants and fruits. They are also excellent swimmers and enjoy bathing in water. Elephants are often seen in zoos and wildlife reserves, where they are protected.

• Elephants are the largest land animals, known for their immense size and strength.
• They are herbivorous mammals primarily found in Africa and Asia.
• They have complex social structures and live in family groups led by a matriarch.
• Elephants are famous for their long trunks, which they use for various tasks like feeding, drinking, and even communication.
• These majestic creatures have large ears that help regulate their body temperature.
• Elephant dung is used as a valuable source of manure in agriculture. It is rich in nutrients and serves as a natural fertilizer, contributing to the growth of plants and crops.
• Their tusks are elongated incisor teeth made of ivory, which has unfortunately led to their poaching.
• They are used as beasts of burden to transport heavy materials such as logs and tree trunks. In circuses, their strength and agility are showcased in extraordinary performances.
• Conservation efforts are in place to protect these remarkable animals, as they are endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.
• Overall, elephants are a symbol of grace and strength in the animal kingdom.

Essay on Evolution & Challenges of Elephants

The evolution of elephants is a testament to the wonders of nature and the resilience of life on Earth. From their humble beginnings as small, trunked mammals, they have transformed into the majestic giants we know today. Yet, their history goes back millions of years, and it is a tale of evolution, adaptation, and survival.

The Evolution of Elephants: A Tale of Survival and Struggle

Introduction

Elephants, the magnificent giants of the animal kingdom, have captured the fascination of people around the world for centuries. These remarkable creatures have a rich history that spans millions of years, and their evolution tells a captivating story of adaptation and survival. In this essay, we will explore the importance of elephants, the challenges they face in today’s world, and the conservation efforts aimed at securing their future.

Origins of Proboscidea

The story of elephant evolution begins in the distant past, during the Eocene epoch, approximately 56 million years ago. The ancestors of elephants belonged to a group of mammals known as Proboscidea, which were characterized by their long, flexible trunks. These early proboscideans, such as Moeritherium and Phiomia, were much smaller than modern elephants and lacked their impressive tusks.

Importance of Elephants

Elephants are keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in shaping their ecosystems. Their impact is felt far beyond their massive footprints. Here are some key aspects of their importance:

• Ecosystem Engineers : Elephants are nature’s gardeners. They create clearings in dense forests, helping sunlight reach the forest floor and promoting the growth of a variety of plant species. This, in turn, benefits other herbivores and even predators.
• Seed Dispersers: Elephants consume a wide range of fruits and plants. After digestion, they excrete seeds that are often viable and well-fertilized. This process helps regenerate forests and maintain biodiversity.
• Cultural Significance: Elephants hold deep cultural and religious significance in many societies. They are revered in various traditions and are a symbol of strength, wisdom, and spirituality.
• Ecotourism: Tourism centered around observing and appreciating elephants in their natural habitats is a significant source of revenue for many countries, contributing to their economies.

Endangerment of Elephants

Despite their ecological and cultural importance, elephants are facing severe endangerment due to various factors:

• Poaching: The illegal ivory trade remains a major threat to elephants. Poachers kill these animals for their valuable tusks, which are carved into ornamental items.
• Habitat Loss : As human populations expand and forests are cleared for agriculture and infrastructure development, elephants lose their natural habitats. This leads to increased human-elephant conflicts.
• Climate Change: Changing weather patterns and increased temperatures affect the availability of water and food sources, making it challenging for elephants to find sustenance.
• Human-Elephant Conflicts: As elephants’ habitats shrink, they often come into contact with humans, resulting in conflicts. This can lead to the loss of human lives and damage to crops and property.
• Captivity and Exploitation: Many elephants are subjected to cruel treatment in captivity, used for entertainment, tourism, and labor. This often involves physical and emotional abuse.

Conservation Challenges and Hope for the Future

The conservation of elephants is an urgent and complex endeavor. Despite the challenges, there is hope for their future.

• Anti-Poaching Measures: Conservation organizations and governments are working together to combat poaching by strengthening law enforcement and imposing strict penalties for wildlife crimes.
• Protected Areas and Corridors: The establishment and proper management of protected areas and wildlife corridors are crucial for ensuring safe spaces for elephants to thrive.
• Community Involvement: Engaging local communities in conservation efforts is essential. Sustainable coexistence can be achieved by implementing measures to mitigate human-elephant conflicts.
• Global Bans on Ivory Trade: International bans on ivory trade have been instrumental in reducing the demand for ivory, discouraging poaching.
• Raising Awareness: Public awareness campaigns and education initiatives play a vital role in changing attitudes towards elephants and promoting their protection.
• Support for Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centers: Providing care and shelter to elephants rescued from abusive situations is essential. These sanctuaries help rehabilitate and reintegrate elephants into protected areas.

The evolution of elephants is a testament to the marvels of nature and the importance of preserving Earth’s biodiversity. These gentle giants, who have roamed the planet for millions of years, now face numerous threats. The need for their conservation is not just an ethical concern but a critical ecological necessity. With concerted efforts from governments, conservation organizations, communities, and individuals, there is hope for the survival and well-being of these magnificent creatures. The future of elephants is in our hands, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they continue to grace our world with their presence.

Short Essay on Importance & Conservation of Elephants

This essay discusses the significance of elephants in nature and culture, as well as the need for their conservation to safeguard biodiversity and preserve cultural traditions. It highlights the threats faced by elephants, including poaching and habitat loss, and the conservation efforts aimed at protecting these magnificent creatures and their ecosystems.

Elephants are vital to our planet’s health and cultural heritage. They help ecosystems by dispersing seeds, altering landscapes, and contributing to carbon sequestration. In many cultures, they are sacred, like Lord Ganesha in Hinduism. Tourism boosts local economies, as elephants attract visitors. However, poaching for ivory and habitat loss endanger them. Human-elephant conflicts can harm both elephants and communities. Conservation efforts focus on protected areas, anti-poaching measures, community involvement, and international agreements. By safeguarding elephants, we protect biodiversity, combat climate change, and preserve rich cultural traditions. Conservation is key to ensuring that these gentle giants continue to thrive.

Uses of Elephants in 150 Words

Elephants, with their incredible strength and intelligence, have been employed in various ways throughout history. Here are some of the key uses of elephants:

• Transportation: Elephants were used as a means of transportation, particularly for carrying heavy loads and logs in dense forests.
• Warfare: Elephants served as formidable war animals, often carrying soldiers into battle and causing fear among enemies.
• Logging and Construction: Due to their strength, elephants have been used in logging and construction projects, moving heavy materials and assisting in challenging tasks.
• Agriculture: In some regions, elephants have been employed in agriculture to plow fields and perform other farm-related tasks.
• Tourism and Entertainment: Unfortunately, elephants have been captured and kept in captivity for tourism and entertainment purposes, such as circus performances.
• Seed Dispersal: In central Africa, elephants play a vital role in forest health by distributing seeds of various tree species.
• Piano Keys: In the past, ivory was a common material for making piano keys, prized for its durability and smooth texture.
• Ivory Production: Ivory obtained from their tusks has been used for making ornaments, figurines, piano keys, and other decorative items.
• Traditional Medicine: Ivory powder has been used in traditional medicine for various remedies and ailments.
• Mosquito Repellent: Elephant dung has been discovered to have unexpected benefits, including acting as an effective mosquito repellent.

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• School Education /

Essay on Elephant: Samples for Class 1, 3, and 5 in English

• Updated on  
• Jan 24, 2024

Essay on Elephant: Which god’s name comes to your mind when you hear about elephants? It’s Lord Ganesh, the younger son of Lord Shiva. Elephant is the largest land animal on earth. There are three species of elephants currently existing, which are the African forest elephant, the African bush elephant, and the Asian elephant. An elephant’s basic features are two large ears, four legs, and two elongated incisors, known as tusks. Elephants are usually calm animals, living peacefully in their natural habitat and some are also domesticated. According to Hindu and Buddhist cultures, elephants are culturally important as they represent power, loyalty, wisdom, and fertility. Today, we will provide school students with some essay on elephant samples.

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Elephant for Class 1
• 2 Essay on Elephant for Class 3
• 3 Essay on Elephant for Class 5

Also Read: Essay on Birds in 600 Words for School Students

Essay on Elephant for Class 1

‘Elephants are an important animal for our environment. Elephants are peaceful animals who can live in their natural habitat and with humans also. Today, elephants are the largest land animals, mostly found in African and Asian countries. Elephants are dark-skinned animals with two large teeth known as tusks, a small tail, and two large ears. Elephants only eat grasses, leaves, and small plants. According to the Hindu religion, elephants represent Lord Ganesha. Elephants are known for their strength, loyalty, and fertility. In ancient times, elephants were used in wars and for carrying heavy loads. Today, elephants are an endangered animal, as they are a victim of habitat loss and poaching. We must save elephants to maintain balance in our ecosystem.’

Also Read: Essay on Animals

Essay on Elephant for Class 3

‘Elephants are the largest animals living on land. Elephants are identified by their large and black body, two enormous and elongated tusks or teeth (incisors), a small tail, and a pair of large ears. Elephants do not harm other animals or humans and can live in their natural habitat and with humans. In royal weddings or ceremonies, elephants are used as part of rally or stage. 

Due to their enormous body size, elephants are not able to move or run faster than humans or any other wild animals. According to scientists and other experts, elephants have feelings and they are considered gentle giants. According to Hindu and Buddhist traditions, elephants are considered sacred animals and are worshipped due to fertility, strength, loyalty, and wisdom. 

However, elephants have fallen victim to illegal activities, such as hunting and poaching. According to studies, more than 20,000 elephants are killed by poachers every year. Because of this, elephants have become an endangered animal. To stop this illegal practice, the Government of India launched Project Elephant in 1992. 

Elephants are extraordinary creatures that deserve our admiration and protection. Like any other animal, elephants are an important part of our ecosystem and helps in maintaining balance in it. We must take care of these important giants and condemn any illegal activity that causes harm to their existence.’

Essay on Elephant for Class 5

‘Elephants are an important part of our natural environment. They are the largest existing land animals in terms of size. Currently, there are three species of elephants; the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. African elephants are the largest, with the height of adult males reaching up to 4 meters. 

Elephants are peace-loving animals and do not cause any kind of threat to other animals or humans unless the other side has initiated an action. The characteristics of an elephant are a large black body, two elongated tusks or incisors, two large ears, and a small tail. Elephants have pillar-like legs to support their heavy body. They are mostly found in dense forests. In India, elephants are mostly found in Bandipur National Park, Periyar National Park, Kaziranga National Park, etc.

For decades, elephants have fallen victim to illegal activities like habitat loss and poaching. Poachers kill animals for their tusks, which are sold in the black market at heavy prices. Because of these activities, elephants are now an endangered animal, meaning they have a high risk of extinction. To stop this, the Government of India launched the Project Elephant in 1992. According to this act, any person found hurting or killing elephants will have to face legal action and can be imprisoned for up to 7 years.

Elephants have a cultural significance in Hindu and Buddhist religions. Hindus consider elephants as sacred as they are associated with Lord Ganesha, the younger son of Lord Shiva. Moreover, they are known for their physical strength, wisdom, fertility, and loyalty. Elephants are one of the few animals who can express emotions. They are peace-loving animals and do not cause any kind of harm. 

Ans: ‘Elephants are an important animal for our environment. Elephants are peaceful animals who can live in their natural habitat and with humans also. Today, elephants are the largest land animals, mostly found in African and Asian countries. Elephants are dark-skinned animals with two large teeth known as tusks, a small tail, and two large ears. Elephants only eat grasses, leaves, and small plants. According to the Hindu religion, elephants represent Lord Ganesha. Elephants are known for their strength, loyalty, and fertility. In ancient times, elephants were used in wars and for carrying heavy loads. 

Ans: There are three species of elephants: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant.

Ans: Elephants are the largest land animals, with their height reaching up to 4 meters.

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This was all about an essay on Elephant. We hope the samples we listed above will help school students with their essay-writing skills. For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

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Paragraph On Elephant For Kids Childrens & Students

Introduction paragraph on Elephant In English: Among the animals living in the forest, the Elephant is a powerful animal. Almighty Allah blessed him with many valuable characteristics. Elephant sees very beautiful in zoos and children’s become very happy to see them.

how do you write a paragraph about an elephant?

kid student can read a simple, small and easy short essay about your favorite animal elephant. read below simple short and long paragraphs writing ideas.

Table of Contents

Brief Paragraph on Elephant For School Students

Elephant is a strong animal. It has four legs which takes after enormous column. The elephant is a giant mammal and is larger in size than other animals . The elephant is given a trunk instead of a nose, through which the elephant can lift heavy objects. The elephant lifts large tree trunks with its trunk. Elephants have a keen sense of smell. The elephant sniffs at other animals from afar. The average age of an elephant is seventy years, but some elephants live longer.

Elephant skin is one inch thick. Elephants communicate with each other with their hooves and also warn each other of many dangers The world’s longest living elephant was spotted in Angola in 1956. Elephants have very large ears.

If the elephant feels threatened by the enemy, he straightens his trunk and informs the other companions of his herd. The ears of the elephant are very big, which helps to repel the flies and mosquitoes. Elephants have small eyes, but very sharp eyes However, their hearing ability is very weak. Their ability to see is sharp. The heaviest elephant was 24,000 pounds, 13 feet high. Elephants, like humans, prefer one elephant to another. Due to their large trunk, their ability to smell is very fast. They can lift very heavy objects through the trunk. Lifts large tree trunks.

Elephants are considered to be the largest and most powerful mammal in wildlife. There are three common types of elephants:

1. The African bush elephant

2. The Asian or Indian elephant.

A male elephant weighs about 12,000 kilograms, the front shoulder height is about 4.2 meters or 13.8 feet, one meter or 3 to 4 feet taller than an African elephant. They are very sensitive about their children. The birth weight of an elephant calf is 120 kg which increases to 12000 kg with age The rest of the species is said to have become extinct in the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago Mammoths are a well-known example.

Elephants come in the group of most intelligent creature. They have strong feelings and emotions for their young ones and members of their family. Elephant skin is also thick. It is not affected by ordinary weapons, so elephant injuries are less. Elephants are found in large numbers in Africa. Kenya is called the land of elephants.

Elephant farming is common among the people of Burma. The elephant is very easy to tame, because it is an intelligent animal. In Burma, elephants are used as a tool for community work. Elephant bones are also used to make valuable and elegant items. Many species of elephants are slowly becoming extinct due to a little human greed. It is very important to protect this animal which is seen happily in zoo s.

The elephant’s favorite food is sugarcane, but it also enjoys eating other fruits, vegetables and grasses. Elephants were also used as ride in the time of kings. Ivory tusks are sharp and sharp . Elephants cost millions, they are very expensive. A large number of tourists are fond of elephant rides. African elephants are mostly seen roaming in protected natural parks.

They found in the list of endangered species. The selfish humans activities have caused the elephant species in endanger. There are two main reasons for the decline in elephant numbers, one is poaching and the other is deforestation. But a new threat to Asian elephants is emerging with increasing demand for their skins because their skin is use for many purposes.

how to write a paragraph about an elephant

Here is simple exercise for kids for leaning purpose. Read and understand following three ways to write a basic paragraph.

1. Topic sentences

A elephant is heavy strong animal.

Elephant has four legs.

It has two long ears and a long nose called trunk.

It is mammal animal and used for riding in old era.

2. Supporting sentences

Elephant was very useful animal in old era, Rich men even Kings used to ride on elephant.

Elephant is know as very intelligent animal. Mother elephant a oldest and largest one called the matriarch’ is seems more intelligent in elephant family. Young elephants follow his mother. They has great feeling, and loves each others.

The skin of a elephant is thick but very strong so, they got less injuries. commonly, there are three kind of elephants Indian, Asian and African. All are similar in shape but different in colors and size.

3. Conclusion

Human believes that, a Elephant is beauty of zoo but selfish human activities caused elephant species in endanger. That’s very bad for reproduction of elephants.

First threat to these animals is poaching and second is deforestation and the third is ever increasing demand of it’s skin and bones, are very useful many purposes.

Forming elephant or a wild house are best solutions to save these animal life.

Try to write ten lines on the topic Elephant in your own words.

1. The Elephant is a very large and heavy animal.

2. Elephant is brave and intelligent animal.

3. Mother elephant has great feeling toward young elephants.

4. Elephant has four legs, two big ears, two eyes, one tail and a long trunk.

5. Elephant can lift things through it’s trunk.

6. Elephant use it’s trunk to drink water.

7. Elephant are consumer animal.

8. They eat grass, small plant, bushes, vegetables and fruits.

9. It’s skin, teeth and bones are very useful.

10. It is a lovely and calm animal for riding.

3 Short Paragraphs On Topic The Elephant

1# – for class 3.

Elephant is the world’s largest land animal. It is found in Asia and Africa. Elephants are mammals. They have big ears, a long trunk, and four toes on each foot. Elephants eat grasses, fruit, and leaves. They spend most of their time eating, drinking, and sleeping. Elephants have small brains but good memories.

They are quiet animals that usually stay alone. Elephants can live up to 60 years in the wild. They are endangered because people kill them for their tusks and ivory. People also hunt them for food or use them for entertainment in zoos or circuses. Zoos are helping to protect elephants by keeping them separated from each other so they don’t get too used to each other or feel lonely.

2# – For Class 6

Elephant is an amazing animal with its huge size and impressive strength. It is also a symbol of wisdom, compassion, and wisdom. It is a wise creature that can be calm and friendly or aggressive and dangerous in its behavior. It is a symbol of wisdom, compassion, and wisdom. A wise elephant never forgets to show kindness to others. It will make sure to help people in need when it sees someone in trouble anywhere.

An elephant knows how to look after itself very well. It will protect itself from predators and other dangers such as floods and fires. An elephant is also a great friend because it never gives up on its friends no matter what happens. If something bad happens, an elephant will stay by your side no matter what it takes for you to be happy again.

3# – Elephant and their habitual For Class 7

The elephant is one of the most majestic animals on the planet. These giant animals can grow to heights of up to 15 feet and weigh up to 7,000 pounds. This makes them the largest land animal in the world. Elephants are also known for their impressive size, intelligence, and strength. They can be found in a variety of different habitats around the world. Some elephants prefer to live in tropical forests while others prefer to live in grasslands or savannas.

In some areas, these animals form small herds while in others they are more social and live in larger groups called “troops.” Elephants spend most of their time eating and drinking water. They also spend a lot of time resting and sleeping. When elephants are not moving much, they will often lie down on the ground and put their feet up. This is called “resting” or napping. Elephants also have large ears that help them hear sounds from far away.

This helps them keep track of each other and keep safe when they are moving through dangerous areas. There are many different types of elephants across the world. Some species have tusks while others do not have tusks at all. Elephants are typically right-handed which means that they use their right foot when walking and their left hand when eating food with their trunk.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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Essay on Elephant in English for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Elephants are the largest land animals with distinct body parts. Unlike other mammals, elephants don’t have nose, instead they breathe through a long trunk. They have huge fan like ears and long extended teeth called tusks. Because of their distinct tusks they are often called tuskers.

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Target Exam ---

Elephants are wild animals; though, they are also domesticated by humans to mainly perform laborious tasks. Colossal body parts give the elephants tremendous physical strength over humans, thus they are tamed and made to perform strenuous and challenging tasks. Elephants have a distinct social structure displaying feelings of compassion, love and care for the family members.

Long and Short Essay on Elephant in English

We have provided below various essay on elephant in order to help students.

Now-a-days, essays and paragraphs writing are more common strategy followed by the teachers in the schools and colleges in order to enhance student’s skill and knowledge about any subject.

All the elephant essay given below are written using very simple words and easy sentences under various words limit. Students can select any of the essays given below according to their need and requirement:

Elephant Essay 1 (100 words)

Elephant is a very big animal. It lives in the forest however it is a pet animal also. Some people keep it at home as a pet animal in order to earn money through circus. It is also kept in the zoo in order to enhance the glory of zoo as well as interest of kids. It has a big body with four legs like pillars, two fan like ears, a long trunk, a short tail and two small eyes. A male elephant contains two long white teeth called as tusks. It can eat soft green leaves, plants, grains, etc. It is very useful animal to the man and proved to be a good friend to mankind as it performs many functions such as earns money, carries heavy loads, etc. It has long life span and lives around one hundred years.

Elephant Essay 2 (150 words)

Elephant is a biggest animal on the land. It is also considered as the strongest animal on the land. Generally it is a wild animal however can live as a pet animal after proper training in the zoo or with human being at home. It has been proved a useful animal for the humanity. It is an animal with big body generally found in the grey color.

It’s all four legs looks like a pillar and two big ears just like a fan. Its eyes are quite small in comparison to the body. It has a long trunk and a short tail. It can pick up a range of things very easily through its trunk such as a small needle and very heavy trees or loads. It has two long white tusks on each side of trunk.

Elephants live in the jungle and generally eat small twigs, leaves, straw and wild fruits however a pet elephant can also eat bread, bananas, sugarcane, etc. It is a pure vegetarian wild animal. Now-a-days, they are used by the people to carry heavy loads, in the circus, lifting logs, etc. In the ancient time, they were used by the kings and dukes in the wars and battles. It lives for long years (more than 100 years). It is very useful animal even after death (bangles are made of bones and tusks).

Elephant Essay 3 (200 words)

Elephant is a largest animal on the land. It lives in the forest however can be a pet after proper training. It can be more than eight feet in height. Its big and heavy body is supported by the strong pillar like legs. It takes help of its long trunk in eating leaves, plants, fruits or trees. Generally two types of elephants are found on land African (scientific name is Loxodonta africana) and Asian (scientific name is Elephas maximus).

Its big hanging ears looks like a fan and legs like a pillar. It has a long trunk attached with mouth and two tusks each side. The trunk of an elephant is very flexible and strong and known as a multi-purpose organ. It is used for feeding, bathing, breathing, expressing emotions, fighting, etc by the elephant.

African elephants are little bigger is size and darker in color than the Asian elephants. They have more prominent ears also. Elephants are commonly found in India, Africa, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Siam. They generally like to live in a herd and become very fond of water. They know well about swimming. Because of being an herbivorous animal, they depend on plants in the forest in order to meet their food need. They move to villages and other residential places in the lack of food in forest or because of deforestation. It is known as an intelligent animal and benefits man in many ways.

Elephant Essay 4 (250 words)

Elephant is a strongest and biggest animal on the earth. It is quite famous for its big body, intelligence and obedient nature. It lives in jungle however can be trained and used by people for various purposes. Its peculiar features are four pillars like legs, two fan like ears, two small eyes, a short tail, a long trunk, and two long white tusks. Elephant eats leaves, stem of banana trees, grass, soft plants, nuts, fruits, etc in the jungle. It lives more than hundred and twenty years. It is found in India in the dense jungles of Assam, Mysore, Tripura, etc. Generally elephants are of dark grey color however white elephants are found as well in the Thailand.

Elephant is an intelligent animal and has good learning capacity. It can be trained very easily according to the use in circus, zoo, transport, carry loads, etc. It can carry heavy logs of timber to a long distance from one place to another. It is an animal of kid’s interest in the zoo or other places. A trained elephant can perform various tasks such as delightful activities in the circus, etc. It can be very angry which create danger to the humanity as it can destroy anything. It is useful animal even after death as its tusk, skin, bones, etc are used to make costly and artistic items.

Elephant Essay 5 (300 words)

Elephant is a very huge wild animal lives in a jungle. It looks quite ugly however mostly liked by the kids. It has big heavy body and called as royal animal. It can be more than 10 feet in height. It is found in coarse dark grey color with very hard skin. In other countries, it is found in white color also. Its long and flexible trunk helps in feeding, breathing, bathing and lifting heavy loads. Its two big ears hanging like big fans. Its four legs are very strong and look like pillars. Elephants are found in the forests of India (Assam, Mysore, Tripura, etc), Ceylon, Africa, and Burma. Elephants like to live in groups of hundreds (lead by a big male elephant) in the jungle.

It is very useful animal to the humanity whole life and after death also. Its various body parts are used to make precious things all over the world. Bones and tusks of elephant are used to make hooks for brushes, knife-handles, combs, bangles including other fancy things. It can live for many years from 150 to 200 years. Keeping elephant at home is very costly which an ordinary person cannot afford.

It has very calm nature however on teasing it can be very angry and dangerous as it can destroy anything even kill people. It is known as intelligent and faithful animal because it understands every sign of the keeper after training. It obeys its keeper very sincerely till death.

There are two types of elephant, African and Indian. African elephants are quite bigger than Indian elephant. Both, male and female African elephants have tusks with wrinkly gray skin and two tips at the end of trunk. Indian or Asian elephants are quite smaller than African elephants with humped back and only one tip at the end of trunk.

Elephant Essay 6 (400 words)

An elephant is very clever, obedient and biggest animal on the earth. It is found in the Africa and Asia. Generally, it is found in grey color however white in Thailand. Female elephants are used to live in groups however male elephants solitary. Elephants live long life more than 100 years. They generally live in jungles however also seen in the zoo and circus. They can grow around 11 feet in height and 13,000 pounds weight. The largest elephant ever has been measured as 13 feet in height and 24,000 pounds in weight. An individual elephant can eat 400 pounds of food and drink 30 gallons of water daily.

Elephant skin becomes one inch thick however very sensitive. They can hear each other’s sound from long distance around 5 miles away. Male elephant starts living alone whenever become adult however female lives in group (oldest female of a group called as matriarch). In spite of having intelligence, excellent hearing power, and good sense of smell, elephants have poor eyesight.

Elephants look very attractive to kids because of its interesting features such as two giant ears, two long tusks (around 10 feet long), four pillars like legs, a huge trunk, a huge body, two small eyes, and a short tail. It is considered that tusks are continued to grow entire life. Trunk is used to eat food, drink water, bath, breathe, smell, carry loads, etc. It is considered as elephants are very smart and never forget any event happened in their life. They communicate to each other in very low sound.

The baby of an elephant is called calf. Elephants come under the category of mammals as they give birth to a baby and feed their milk. A baby elephant can take almost 20 to 22 months in getting fully developed inside its mother womb. No other animal’s baby takes such a long time to develop before birth. A female elephants give birth to a single baby for every four or five years. They give birth to a baby of 85 cm (33 inch) tall and 120 kg heavy. A baby elephant takes almost a year or more to learn the use of trunk. A baby elephant can drink about 10 liters of milk daily. Elephants are at risk of extinction because of their size, prized ivory tusks, hunting, etc. They should be protected in order to maintain their availability on the earth.

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Essay on Elephant for School Students in English [Easy Words*]

January 19, 2021 by Sandeep

Essay on Elephant: One of the strongest and largest land animals on Earth is the elephant. It has four sturdy pillars like legs, long trunk, tusks, two eyes and a short tail. It uses its trunk to suck water and pick up food. They are herbivores and primarily feed on grasses, sugarcane and plants. African and Asian varieties are popular around the world. The average life span of elephants is around 5 to 70 years.

Essay on Elephant 200 Words in English

Below we have provided Elephant Essay in English, suitable for class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 school students.

The elephant is the biggest land mammal in the world. They are known for their large floppy ears, tusks made of ivory, long trunks, and intelligence. You can tell the difference between Asian and African elephants from the shape of their ears because they are shaped as the maps of India and Africa. Elephants are friendly with humans, but they can go on a dangerous rampage if they get angry or scared.

In olden times, elephants were used in wars because they could easily attack with their tusks and trunks. They are generally very slow animals and walk around in herds, with other adult elephants and children. Elephants spend 12-18 hours a day eating grass, plants and food using their trunks to lift it to their mouths.

Essay on Elephant in English

There are many types of animals found around the world. Some are very big and some very small. The elephant is the largest animal living today and the strongest too.

It draws up water by it and can squirt it all over its body like a shower bath, picks leaves from the trees and puts them into the mouth. Elephants look very clumsy and heavy.

In both countries, they live in herds in jungles and are shy and keep away from men. The elephant is a very intelligent animal and its intelligence and strength make it a very useful servant of man.

Elephants are also trained for tiger-hunting. The hunter is in the ‘howdah’ on the back of the elephant, which is driven and guided by the driver, ‘mahawat’.

In the olden days, elephants were used in battles and armies had their regiments of trained fighter elephants. They still have their places in state processions. Many elephants are caught alive to be tamed and trained.

Elephants are very useful for men and their work. At a few places, elephants are hunted mainly for their tusks, which are made of ivory and are very valuable. Law does not permit the hunting of elephants. We should protect them to keep a balanced environment

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Paragraph on Elephant

Students are often asked to write a paragraph on Elephant in their schools. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 200-word, and 250-word paragraphs on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

Paragraph on Elephant in 100 Words

Elephants are big and strong animals that live in the wild. Some live in Africa, and others in Asia. They are the largest animals that live on land. They have long noses called trunks, which they use for eating, drinking, and bathing. Elephants also have big ears and long teeth called tusks. They love to eat grass, leaves, and fruit. Elephants are very smart. They can remember things for a long time. They live together in groups called herds. Baby elephants are called calves. They stay with their moms for many years. We should protect elephants because they are special.

Paragraph on Elephant in 200 Words

Elephants are large, gentle creatures known for their big ears, long trunks, and tough, grey skin. They are the biggest animals that live on land. Elephants use their long trunks to pick up food, drink water, and even to say hello to other elephants. Their big ears help them stay cool in hot weather. There are two types of elephants: African elephants, which are bigger and have larger ears, and Asian elephants, which are a bit smaller. Elephants eat a lot of food; they can eat up to 400 pounds in a single day! They love to eat leaves, bark, and fruits. Elephants also love water. They use their trunks to spray water on themselves and take baths. Baby elephants, called calves, stay close to their mothers for many years, learning how to be an elephant. Elephants are very smart and have good memories. They can remember their friends and family for a long time. They live in groups, which are led by the oldest female, called the matriarch. Elephants are very important to our world, but they need our help because their homes are disappearing. We need to take care of them so they can keep being amazing animals.

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Paragraph on Elephant in 250 Words

Elephants are amazing animals with some unique features. They are the largest land animals living on Earth. Elephants are known for their huge bodies, long trunks, and big ears. Their trunks are very special; they use them to pick up things, to drink water, and even to show affection towards others. Elephants are found mainly in Africa and Asia. Asian elephants are generally smaller than African elephants. Elephants live in large groups called herds, which are led by the oldest female, known as the matriarch. They are very social creatures and care deeply for their family members. They are also very intelligent, with the ability to remember things for a long time, which is why people say “elephants never forget”. Elephants eat a lot of food – up to 300 pounds in a single day! They are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Elephants are a symbol of strength and wisdom in many cultures. Sadly, they are in danger due to hunting and loss of habitat. Many people hunt elephants for their ivory tusks, which is illegal. Efforts are being made to protect these gentle giants and their habitats. We need to respect and care for these wonderful creatures to ensure they are around for future generations to admire.

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Essay on Elephant 100, 150, 200, 250 & 300 Words | PDF

Essay & paragraph on elephant.

Short and Long Essay (Paragraph) on Elephant – Have you ever wondered why we are so obsessed with elephants? And why are they so widely used in public entertainment events? After a while, you will understand why this is so. But first, let’s start with a little history lesson by short and long elephant essay in 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 words.

Short & Long Essay on Elephant

Essay 100 – 150 words class 1, 2, 3, 4.

Elephants are very large animals with long trunks and large ears that flap. They are also very gentle and clever animals who love to play in the mud and take long baths in the water.

Elephants are herbivores meaning they eat plants such as leaves, fruits, and grass. They use their long trunk to pick up food and drink water. Their trunk is also used for communication, trumpeting, and for making sounds to communicate with other elephants.

They are very social animals that live in groups called herds. They take care of each other and help to save the children. Elephants also have a good memory which can remember other elephants they have met before.

Protecting elephants is important because their habitat is being destroyed and they are being hunted for their tusks. We need to work together to ensure that elephants can live safely in their natural habitats.

Essay 200 – 250 Words Class 5, 6, 7

The elephant is a very amazing creature. They are the largest creatures on earth reaching up to 5 meters in height can extend their trunk up to 3 meters and can weigh up to 12000 kg.

An elephant is one of the most recognizable creatures in the world. It is more than just a symbol it is an animal that has been a part of our lives for centuries. The history of elephants is part of the history of human cultures and civilizations around the planet. One of the reasons elephants are so important to us is that they are not only large land animals but they can also travel long distances with ease.

The elephant is the largest living land mammal. Can you imagine how big it is? It is estimated that an adult elephant weighs about 10 tons or about 20,000 pounds which is a lot of weight for an animal.

Many people love elephants for their nature and intelligence but still, there are some people who hate them. Some people think that elephants have very big noses and very big ears.

Of course, no matter how big someone appears. They are just as important to the Earth and all its inhabitants as you are but they do not have the same rights to protection as humans.

Essay – 300 Words Class 9, 8, 10

Introduction

The elephant is one of the most fascinating and majestic creatures on earth. Here are three points in this essay about elephants that make them such unique and awe-inspiring animals.

Unbelievable Size

Elephants are known for their incredible size. The African elephant is the largest land animal on Earth with adult males weighing up to 14,000 pounds and standing over 10 feet tall. The smaller Asian elephant still can weigh up to 11,000 pounds and stand up to 9 feet tall. Despite their enormous size elephants are remarkably agile and can run up to 25 miles per hour.

Incredibly Intelligent

Elephants are incredibly intelligent animals. They have a brain that is larger than any other land animal and they display remarkable problem-solving abilities. They have been known to use tools such as branches or rocks to complete tasks and have demonstrated the ability to recognize themselves in mirrors a sign of self-awareness. Apart from this, they are also social animals that display a wide range of emotions including grief, happiness, and even empathy.

Important Role In The Ecosystem

Elephants play an important role in their ecosystem. As herbivores, they can consume large amounts of vegetation that helps maintain the balance of plant species in their habitats. They also have a unique ability to shape their environment as they can cut down trees and carve new paths through dense vegetation. It not only benefits other animals but also creates new opportunities for plant growth.

The elephant is a remarkable and inspiring animal that deserves our protection and admiration. Their intelligence, size, ecological importance, and threatened status make them one of the most fascinating animals on Earth. As we continue to learn about elephants and the important role they play in our world. For this, we must work together to ensure they are preserved for future generations.

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10 Lines on Elephant for Students and Children in English

May 18, 2023 by Prasanna

10 Lines on Elephant: Elephants are one of the most loved and popular animals around the world. But given the nature of the rapid extinction of the species, it becomes important for everyone, not just school children and students, to get to know about elephants and their importance in maintaining a stable environment and providing stability to our food chain.

In this particular article on 10 lines on elephants in English, we are going to provide information right from fundamentals to lesser-known facts about elephants that will be useful for students in their school assignments, project works, examinations, tests, homework and class works.

We have divided the entire article on 10 lines on elephants in English into three sets with different content and difficulty level starting from set 1 to set The nature of the information given is such a way that everybody can understand and learn more about elephants.

You can read more  10 Lines  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

10 Lines on Elephant for Students and Kids in English

You can find below the first set of 10 lines on elephants in English. Set 1 is a relatively simpler set that can be used by school students from class 1 to class 6 for their assignments, homework, tests and exams.

Set 1 – 10 Lines on Elephant for Kids

Set 1 is helpful to the students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Kids

• Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.
• Elephants are mostly found in African and Asian forests
• We can tell the difference between the various species among elephants by the size of their ears.
• Elephants are herbivores animals which means that they don’t consume meat unlike other wild animals in the forest.
• Elephants can communicate with each other through ground vibrations coming from their footsteps.
• The different types of elephant species that are recognised so far are the Asian elephant, the African Bush Elephant and the African forest elephant.
• Elephants are characterized by their large body, long trunks and huge tusk along with big ears.
• Elephants defend themselves from any enemies and threats using their tusks and trunk.
• Elephants, in spite of their huge body, can run very fast in a straight line.
• Elephants are very much important to keep the stability in our food chain and to maintain our ecosystem.

Set 2 – 10 Lines on Elephant for School Children

Set 2 is helpful to students of classes 6, 7 and 8.

• Elephants are categorised as mammals because they feed their young ones milk secreted from mammary glands. Also, elephants are also the largest mammals inland.
• Although elephants are considered herbivorous in nature, they do consume pests and insects on plants and trees and hence they are capable of digesting meat.
• Apart from apes such as gorillas and monkeys, elephants are some of the most intelligent land animals known to human beings.
• Elephant groups are usually female-led and they can be very aggressive in nature when threatened and hence it is best advised that human interaction should be least with these animals and they should be left alone in their ecosystem.
• The threat to elephants is mainly because of rapid urbanization and industrialization in many parts of the world where we are encroaching their land and leaving them with no habitat to live and grow.
• Elephants are hunted and poached for their tusks, skin and trunk that has medicinal and cosmetic values
• Countries across the world should come together to protect these animals and formulate stringent laws and policies to reduce the extinction of elephants due to hunting and poaching.
• An average African elephant is as tall as 3.2 metres and weighs approximately 6,000 kg.
• We can distinguish elephant species by recognising the length of their trunk and the size of their ears. Also, elephants are distinguished based on their habitats and eating habits.
• Baby elephants, which are known as calves, weigh around 100kgs to 120 kgs when they are born.

Set 3 – 10 Lines on Elephant for High School Students

Set 3 is helpful to students of classes 9, 10, 11, 12 and for Competitive Exams.

• The gestation period for elephants is approximately 22 to 23 months, the longest gestation period for any mammal known to humans, and the baby elephant that is born with a weight of around 100kg to 120 kg.
• The average lifespan of an elephant varies between 50 to 70 years depending on the species of elephant whether it is Asian elephant or African Bush elephant.
• As mentioned before, elephants can run at a higher pace with a speed of almost 20 to 25 kilometre per hour in times of distress but elephants usually walk at a speed of around 4 km per hour.
• Elephants, being Herbivorous animals, have 6 sets of molar teeth that they use to chew and digest various plants and tree chunks on an everyday basis.
• Many elephants die of natural causes mostly caused by decay and falling of their tooth which will eventually lead them to starvation since they can’t consume food without their teeth.
• Increase in pollution, causing an an increase in the average temperature of the earth, rapid urbanization and deforestation are some of the concerns causing the rapid extinction of many animals including elephants across the world.
• The extinction of animals, especially in the Western Ghats in the southern part of India, is a matter of concern and the Indian government has to put a hold on the rapid encroachment of forest land and deforestation in the region.
• The Wildlife Protection Act 1972, which was amended and strengthened in the year 2002 in India has not been effective in protecting elephants from hunting, poaching and selling.
• We as a society have to wake up to the harsh truth of the disturbing food cycle and come up with sustainable policies for both business and social life so that we leave a better world for our next generation.
• Elephant forms the most important part of our food chain and if elephants get extinct at the same rate as it is happening today, scientists predict that there will be massive disturbances in the flora which ultimately affects us human beings in the next few decades.

FAQ’s on 10 Lines on Elephant

Question 1. How many types of elephants are known to us?

Answer: There are mainly three types of elephants, which are Asian elephant, African Bush elephant and African forest elephant categorised by their external morphology, habitat and living conditions.

Question 2. How many elephants are left in the world?

Answer: There are approximately 4.5 lacs of elephants left in the entire world.

Question 3. In which region of India are elephants found in large numbers?

Answer: Elephants are found in large numbers in the largest elephant reserve in India, Bandipur National Park (Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve) oh the western ghats of southern India, in the state of Karnataka.

Question 4. Which country has the largest number of elephants?

Answer: Botswana, in Africa, is the country that has the largest number of elephants in the world.

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Shooting an Elephant

This material remains under copyright in some jurisdictions, including the US, and is reproduced here with the kind permission of  the Orwell Estate . The Orwell Foundation is an independent charity – please consider making a donation or becoming a Friend of the Foundation to help us maintain these resources for readers everywhere. 

In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people – the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me. I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter. No one had the guts to raise a riot, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress. As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so. When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter. This happened more than once. In the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves. The young Buddhist priests were the worst of all. There were several thousands of them in the town and none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on street corners and jeer at Europeans.

All this was perplexing and upsetting. For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better. Theoretically – and secretly, of course – I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British. As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear. In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos – all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt. But I could get nothing into perspective. I was young and ill-educated and I had had to think out my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on every Englishman in the East. I did not even know that the British Empire is dying, still less did I know that it is a great deal better than the younger empires that are going to supplant it. All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula saeculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples; with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts. Feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official, if you can catch him off duty.

One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening. It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism – the real motives for which despotic governments act. Early one morning the sub-inspector at a police station the other end of the town rang me up on the phone and said that an elephant was ravaging the bazaar. Would I please come and do something about it? I did not know what I could do, but I wanted to see what was happening and I got on to a pony and started out. I took my rifle, an old 44 Winchester and much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem. Various Burmans stopped me on the way and told me about the elephant’s doings. It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone “must.” It had been chained up, as tame elephants always are when their attack of “must” is due, but on the previous night it had broken its chain and escaped. Its mahout, the only person who could manage it when it was in that state, had set out in pursuit, but had taken the wrong direction and was now twelve hours’ journey away, and in the morning the elephant had suddenly reappeared in the town. The Burmese population had no weapons and were quite helpless against it. It had already destroyed somebody’s bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit-stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violences upon it.

The Burmese sub-inspector and some Indian constables were waiting for me in the quarter where the elephant had been seen. It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palmleaf, winding all over a steep hillside. I remember that it was a cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains. We began questioning the people as to where the elephant had gone and, as usual, failed to get any definite information. That is invariably the case in the East; a story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes. Some of the people said that the elephant had gone in one direction, some said that he had gone in another, some professed not even to have heard of any elephant. I had almost made up my mind that the whole story was a pack of lies, when we heard yells a little distance away. There was a loud, scandalized cry of “Go away, child! Go away this instant!” and an old woman with a switch in her hand came round the corner of a hut, violently shooing away a crowd of naked children. Some more women followed, clicking their tongues and exclaiming; evidently there was something that the children ought not to have seen. I rounded the hut and saw a man’s dead body sprawling in the mud. He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie, almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes. The people said that the elephant had come suddenly upon him round the corner of the hut, caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and ground him into the earth. This was the rainy season and the ground was soft, and his face had scored a trench a foot deep and a couple of yards long. He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side. His face was coated with mud, the eyes wide open, the teeth bared and grinning with an expression of unendurable agony. (Never tell me, by the way, that the dead look peaceful. Most of the corpses I have seen looked devilish.) The friction of the great beast’s foot had stripped the skin from his back as neatly as one skins a rabbit. As soon as I saw the dead man I sent an orderly to a friend’s house nearby to borrow an elephant rifle. I had already sent back the pony, not wanting it to go mad with fright and throw me if it smelt the elephant.

The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle and five cartridges, and meanwhile some Burmans had arrived and told us that the elephant was in the paddy fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant. They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot. It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat. It made me vaguely uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant – I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary – and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people jostling at my heels. At the bottom, when you got away from the huts, there was a metalled road and beyond that a miry waste of paddy fields a thousand yards across, not yet ploughed but soggy from the first rains and dotted with coarse grass. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road, his left side towards us. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd’s approach. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and stuffing them into his mouth.

I had halted on the road. As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant – it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery – and obviously one ought not to do it if it can possibly be avoided. And at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off; in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about until the mahout came back and caught him. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him. I decided that I would watch him for a little while to make sure that he did not turn savage again, and then go home.

But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. It blocked the road for a long distance on either side. I looked at the sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes-faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly. And it was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East. Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind. I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the “natives,” and so in every crisis he has got to do what the “natives” expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it. I had got to shoot the elephant. I had committed myself to doing it when I sent for the rifle. A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things. To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing – no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.

But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with that preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. At that age I was not squeamish about killing animals, but I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill a large animal.) Besides, there was the beast’s owner to be considered. Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds; dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks, five pounds, possibly. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking Burmans who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing: he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

It was perfectly clear to me what I ought to do. I ought to walk up to within, say, twenty-five yards of the elephant and test his behavior. If he charged, I could shoot; if he took no notice of me, it would be safe to leave him until the mahout came back. But also I knew that I was going to do no such thing. I was a poor shot with a rifle and the ground was soft mud into which one would sink at every step. If the elephant charged and I missed him, I should have about as much chance as a toad under a steam-roller. But even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind. For at that moment, with the crowd watching me, I was not afraid in the ordinary sense, as I would have been if I had been alone. A white man mustn’t be frightened in front of “natives”; and so, in general, he isn’t frightened. The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.

There was only one alternative. I shoved the cartridges into the magazine and lay down on the road to get a better aim. The crowd grew very still, and a deep, low, happy sigh, as of people who see the theatre curtain go up at last, breathed from innumerable throats. They were going to have their bit of fun after all. The rifle was a beautiful German thing with cross-hair sights. I did not then know that in shooting an elephant one would shoot to cut an imaginary bar running from ear-hole to ear-hole. I ought, therefore, as the elephant was sideways on, to have aimed straight at his ear-hole, actually I aimed several inches in front of this, thinking the brain would be further forward.

When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick – one never does when a shot goes home – but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd. In that instant, in too short a time, one would have thought, even for the bullet to get there, a mysterious, terrible change had come over the elephant. He neither stirred nor fell, but every line of his body had altered. He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralysed him without knocking him down. At last, after what seemed a long time – it might have been five seconds, I dare say – he sagged flabbily to his knees. His mouth slobbered. An enormous senility seemed to have settled upon him. One could have imagined him thousands of years old. I fired again into the same spot. At the second shot he did not collapse but climbed with desperate slowness to his feet and stood weakly upright, with legs sagging and head drooping. I fired a third time. That was the shot that did for him. You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last remnant of strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, his belly towards me, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay.

I got up. The Burmans were already racing past me across the mud. It was obvious that the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead. He was breathing very rhythmically with long rattling gasps, his great mound of a side painfully rising and falling. His mouth was wide open – I could see far down into caverns of pale pink throat. I waited a long time for him to die, but his breathing did not weaken. Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart must be. The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but still he did not die. His body did not even jerk when the shots hit him, the tortured breathing continued without a pause. He was dying, very slowly and in great agony, but in some world remote from me where not even a bullet could damage him further. I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast Lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him. I sent back for my small rifle and poured shot after shot into his heart and down his throat. They seemed to make no impression. The tortured gasps continued as steadily as the ticking of a clock.

In the end I could not stand it any longer and went away. I heard later that it took him half an hour to die. Burmans were bringing dash and baskets even before I left, and I was told they had stripped his body almost to the bones by the afternoon.

Afterwards, of course, there were endless discussions about the shooting of the elephant. The owner was furious, but he was only an Indian and could do nothing. Besides, legally I had done the right thing, for a mad elephant has to be killed, like a mad dog, if its owner fails to control it. Among the Europeans opinion was divided. The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie. And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant. I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.

Published by New Writing , 2, Autumn 1936

This material remains under copyright in some jurisdictions, including the US, and is reproduced here with the kind permission of the Orwell Estate .

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A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Shooting an Elephant’ is a 1936 essay by George Orwell (1903-50), about his time as a young policeman in Burma, which was then part of the British empire. The essay explores an apparent paradox about the behaviour of Europeans, who supposedly have the power over their colonial subjects.

Before we offer an analysis of Orwell’s essay, it might be worth providing a short summary of ‘Shooting an Elephant’, which you can read here .

Orwell begins by relating some of his memories from his time as a young police officer working in Burma. Although the extent to which the essay is autobiographical has been disputed, we will refer to the narrator as Orwell himself, for ease of reference.

He, like other British and European people in imperial Burma, was held in contempt by the native populace, with Burmese men tripping him up during football matches between the Europeans and Burmans, and the local Buddhist priests loudly insulting their European colonisers on the streets.

Orwell tells us that these experiences instilled in him two things: it confirmed his view, which he had already formed, that imperialism was evil, but it also inspired a hatred of the enmity between the European imperialists and their native subjects. Of course, these two things are related, and Orwell understands why the Buddhist priests hate living under European rule. He is sympathetic towards such a view, but it isn’t pleasant when you yourself are personally the object of ridicule or contempt.

He finds himself caught in the middle between ‘hatred of the empire’ he served and his ‘rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make [his] job impossible’.

The main story which Orwell relates takes place in Moulmein, in Lower Burma. An elephant, one of the tame elephants which the locals own and use, has given its rider or mahout the slip, and has been wreaking havoc throughout the bazaar. It has destroyed a hut, killed a cow, and raided some fruit stalls for food. Orwell picks up his rifle and gets on his pony to go and see what he can do.

He knows the rifle won’t be good enough to kill the elephant, but he hopes that firing the gun might scare the animal. Orwell discovers that the elephant has just trampled a man, a coolie or native labourer, to the ground, killing him. Orwell sends his pony away and calls for an elephant rifle which would be more effective against such a big animal. Going in search of the elephant, Orwell finds it coolly eating some grass, looking as harmless as a cow.

It has calmed down, but by this point a crowd of thousands of local Burmese people has amassed, and is watching Orwell intently. Even though he sees no need to kill the animal now it no longer poses a threat to anyone, he realises that the locals expect him to dispatch it, and he will lose ‘face’ – both personally and as an imperial representative – if he does not do what the crowd expects.

So he shoots the elephant from a safe distance, marvelling at how long the animal takes to die. He acknowledges at the end of the essay that he only shot the elephant because he did not wish to look like a fool.

‘Shooting an Elephant’ is obviously about more than Orwell’s killing of the elephant: the whole incident was, he tells us, ‘a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism – the real motives for which despotic governments act.’

The surprise is that despotic governments don’t merely impose their iron boot upon people without caring what their poor subjects think of them, but rather that despots do care about how they are judged and viewed by their subjects.

Among other things, then, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ is about how those in power act when they are aware that they have an audience. It is about how so much of our behaviour is shaped, not by what we want to do, nor even by what we think is the right thing to do, but by what others will think of us .

Orwell confesses that he had spent his whole life trying to avoid being laughed at, and this is one of his key motivations when dealing with the elephant: not to invite ridicule or laughter from the Burmese people watching him.

To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing – no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.

Note how ‘my whole life’ immediately widens to ‘every white man’s life in the East’: this is not just Orwell’s psychology but the psychology of every imperial agent. Orwell goes on to imagine what grisly death he would face if he shot the elephant and missed, and he was trampled like the hapless coolie the elephant had killed: ‘And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.’

The stiff upper lip of this final phrase is British imperialism personified. Being trampled to death by the elephant might be something that Orwell could live with (as it were); but being laughed at? And, worse still, laughed at by the ‘natives’? Unthinkable …

And from this point, Orwell extrapolates his own experience to consider the colonial experience at large: the white European may think he is in charge of his colonial subjects, but ironically – even paradoxically – the coloniser loses his own freedom when he takes it upon himself to subjugate and rule another people:

I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the ‘natives,’ and so in every crisis he has got to do what the ‘natives’ expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.

So, at the heart of ‘Shooting an Elephant’ are two intriguing paradoxes: imperial rulers and despots actually care deeply about how their colonised subjects view them (even if they don’t care about those subjects), and the one who colonises loses his own freedom when he takes away the freedom of his colonial subjects, because he is forced to play the role of the ‘sahib’ or gentleman, setting an example for the ‘natives’, and, indeed, ‘trying to impress’ them. He is the alien in their land, which helps to explain this second paradox, but the first is more elusive.

However, even this paradox is perhaps explicable. As Orwell says, aware of the absurdity of the scene: ‘Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.’

The Burmese natives are the ones with the real power in this scene, both because they are the natives and because they outnumber the lone policeman, by several thousand to one. He may have a gun, but they have the numbers. He is performing for a crowd, and the most powerful elephant gun in the world wouldn’t be enough to give him power over the situation.

There is a certain inevitability conveyed by Orwell’s clever repetitions (‘I did not in the least want to shoot him … They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant … I had no intention of shooting the elephant … I did not in the least want to shoot him … But I did not want to shoot the elephant’), which show how the idea of shooting the elephant gradually becomes apparent to the young Orwell.

These repetitions also convey how powerless he feels over what is happening, even though he acknowledges it to be unjust (when the elephant no longer poses a threat to anyone) as well as financially wasteful (Orwell also draws attention to the pragmatic fact that the elephant while alive is worth around a hundred pounds, whereas his tusks would only fetch around five pounds).

But he does it anyway, in an act that is purely for show, and which goes against his own will and instinct.

Discover more about Orwell’s non-fiction with our analysis of his ‘A Hanging’ , our discussion of his essay on political language , and our thoughts on his autobiographical essay, ‘Why I Write’ .

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8 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’”

Absolutely fascinating and very though provoking. Thank you.

Thanks, Caroline! Very kind

One biographer claimed that the incident never took place and is pure fiction created to make the points you mention. Is there any proof that it actually happened ?

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Circuses – it still goes on, tragically. https://robinsaikia.org/2021/04/04/elephants-in-venice-1954/

Hmm now I make another connection here. A degree of the hypocrisy of human society. In a sense, the Burmese were ‘owned’ by their imperial masters – personified by Orwell – but the Elephant was owned by the Burmese. the Burmese hate Orwell for being the imperialist and yet they expect him to shoot their elephant who is itself forced into a role it clearly didn’t like. I know it is all very post-modernist to consider things from a non-human point of view, but there seems a very obvious mirroring here.

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