All Free Day tickets have been reserved, CityPASS holders & members can enter w/out reservations.

Asian Elephant

These majestic creatures are struggling to survive in the wild. Houston Zoo partners with field conservation organizations to ensure elephants will exist for a long time to come.

Stable

Threatened

Endangered

Animal Facts

Scientific Name

Elephas maximus

Range

Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia; Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Nepal; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Viet Nam

Location in the Zoo

McNair Asian Elephant Habitat

Cool Animal Fact

There are two elephant species; Asian And African. Look at the ears and tusks to tell them apart: Asian elephants have smaller ears, and while African male and female elephants both have tusks, Asian female elephants do not.

How We Help Save Them

The Zoo provides equipment, training, salaries, and support for a Malaysian conservationist protecting elephants. Dr. Farina Othman is the Zoo’s Elephant Conservation Associate.
The Zoo provides support for wild elephants to be fitted with satellite collars. This allows the Malaysian elephant conservation team to follow wild elephants and find solutions to challenges they face to protect this species.
The Zoo provides support for Farina and the Malaysian elephant conservation team to collect Bornean elephant behavior observations to create plans to protect this species.

How You Can Help

Donate now to help save elephants in the wild.

DONATE TODAY

Be a hero and visit the Houston Zoo! Your admission ticket and memberships are helping the Zoo plant trees to reforest habitat and help to protect elephants in Borneo.

Elephant Yard Cam

Watch Live Webcam

EEHV Treatment

Elephant Health Alliance:
Protecting Pachyderms, Advancing Medicine

The Houston Zoo is at the forefront of elephant care and working to find a cure for EEHV. The Zoo’s veterinarians and elephant care team established a research collaboration in 2009 with herpes virologist Dr. Paul Ling at Baylor College of Medicine’s (BCM) Department of Virology and Microbiology. This has led to significant advancements in the study of EEHV, leading to the creation of the first-ever EEHV vaccine.

Learn More