Originating in 1996, National Elephant Appreciation Day is held every year on September 22nd. Disney fans of all ages are fascinated by Disney’s Animal Kingdom elephants as they are visited by upwards of 10.9 million guests a year.
Elephants are larger than life and profoundly intelligent animals and with an average lifespan of an elephant is 60 to 70 years, they develop uniquely close family bonds compared to other animals. They are very playful animals who love to frolic in the water, as they are depicted in one of our favorite Disney attractions, The Jungle Cruise. Elephants are herbivorous animals who will eat almost any type of plant from grass to trees. In captivity, they are also very fond of cabbage, lettuce, bananas, apples and many other types of fruits and vegetables.
For more great information about these amazing pachyderms, make sure to visit the African elephant exhibit next time you visit Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. For an even closer look at these majestic animals, you might want to consider booking “Caring for Giants,” a 60-minute experience where you’ll meet the animal specialists who care for Disney’s African elephants and observe them in action from only 80-100 feet away. Even better, a portion of the $30.00 to book this experience is donated to Disney’s Conservation Fund
In the spirit of celebrating National Elephant Appreciation Day, we’ve put together this incredible list of elephant and elephant-inspired Disney characters. Celebrate with us by sharing this article and using the hashtag, #ElephantAppreciationDay.
Bing Bong

Bing Bong is the tritagonist of the 2015 Disney/Pixar animated film Inside Out. He was the imaginary friend of Riley Andersen who existed within her mind.
Dumbo

Dumbo is the protagonist of Disney‘s 1941 film of the same name. He is a small elephant and the son of Mrs. Jumbo. Dumbo is most famous for his giant floppy ears, which give him the ability to glide in the air.
Mrs. Jumbo

Mrs. Jumbo is a major character from the 1941 Disney animated film, Dumbo. She is the loving, protective mother of the film’s titular character.
Lumpy

Lumpy is a Heffalump and a main character from the Winnie the Pooh franchise.
Pink Elephants

The Pink Elephants are hallucinations that Dumbo and Timothy Mouse experience in Disney’s 1941 film Dumbo.
The Elephant Matriarch

The Elephant Matriarch is a major antagonist from the 1941 Disney film Dumbo. She is the leader of the circus elephants. She is voiced by Verna Felton.
Giddy

Giddy is one of the secondary antagonists from the 1941 Disney film, Dumbo. She is one of the elephants closely linked to the Elephant Matriarch.
Winifred

Winifred or Mrs. Hathi is an elephant who appears in Disney’s 1967film The Jungle Book and its related media. In the film, she is the wife of Colonel Hathi.
Hathi, Jr.

Hathi, Jr. is a young elephant who appears in The Jungle Book and its sequel The Jungle Book 2.
Heff Heffalump

Stan Woozle and Heff Heffalump are a pair of animal villains occasionally featured in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They are also one of the many cartoon parodies of George and Lennie from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
Catty

Catty is an antagonist from the 1941 Disney film, Dumbo. Catty is one of the elephants closely linked to the Elephant Matriarch.
Prissy

The Jungle Patrol

The Jungle Patrol (sometimes referred as The Dawn Patrol by Bagheera) is the name for a herd of elephants led by Colonel Hathi. They appear in Disney’s 1967 film The Jungle Book and its sequel.
Jerry Jumbeaux Jr.

Jerry Jumbeaux Jr. is a minor character in the 2016 Disney animated feature film Zootopia. He is the owner of Jumbeaux’s Café, an ice cream parlor for elephants and heavy mammals.
Tantor’s Mother

Mabaya

Mabaya is a rogue bull elephant who originally belonged to the same herd as Jabari and his parents in The Legend of Tarzan.
Dolores

Dolores is an elephant who appears in Tiger Trouble, The Big Wash and Working for Peanuts, plus the Mickey Mouse Works short “Around the World in Eighty Days“. She also made a cameo in the DuckTales episode “The Money Vanishes“, where is shown to have a calf.
Mama Heffalump

Mama Heffalump is the mother of Lumpy. She was introduced in the film Pooh’s Heffalump Movie.
Mtoto

Mtoto is a character that appears in The Lion Guard.
Eloise

Eloise is a minor character from the 1960 animated short, Goliath II.
Ma Tembo

Ma Tembo is a character that appears in The Lion Guard.
Goliath I

Goliath I is Goliath II‘s father. He dislikes his son because he has a diminutive size. However, when his son wins a fight against a mouse, he underestimates his son and allows him to ride on his head.
Goliath II

Goliath II is a tiny elephant calf and the titular character of the animated short of the same name.
Junior Heffalump

Junior Heffalump is the son of Mama and Papa Heffalump in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He only appears in “There’s No Camp Like Home” and “Trap as Trap Can“.
Elmer Elephant

Elmer Elephant is the main character of the 1936 Silly Symphonies short of the same name.
Goliath II’s Mother

Goliath II’s mother is a female elephant who has great affection for her son, Goliath II and who disapproves of the dislike of her husband, Goliath I from Goliath II.
Bobo

Bobo is a baby elephant who has appeared as a pet of Mickey Mouse in at least two stories.
Flaps

Flaps is a Toon elephant from the animated series Bonkers. He serves as the primary antagonist of the episode “Of Mice and Menace“.
Papa Heffalump

Papa Heffalump is the patriarchal head of a small family of Heffalumps in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He appears in the episodes, “There’s No Camp Like Home” and “Trap as Trap Can“. He is voiced by Jim Cummings.
Elelroo

Elelroo is the main character from Disney’s 1985 television series The Wuzzles. He is voiced by Henry Gibson. He is prone to accidents and disasters and often has trouble remembering what he stores in his pouch.
Ned the Elephant

Ned the Elephant is a snooty elephant with a British accent in the Timon & Pumbaa TV series. He is known to be the most popular guy in the jungle. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
Dania

Dania is a female elephant from The Legend of Tarzan episode; “Tarzan and the Rift“.
Jumbo Jumbo

Jumbo Jumbo is a character from the Timon & Pumbaa TV series. He appears in “Good Mousekeeping” and “Zazu’s Off Day Off.”
Elephanchine

Elephanchine is a character from Disney’s 1940 animated feature Fantasia. She and he elephant ballerinas represent the dusk.
Rocky

Rocky is a young baby elephant in Disney’s 1960 movie, Swiss Family Robinson.
Shep

Shep is George‘s faithful elephant pet and the secondary tritagonist of the movie, George of the Jungle and its sequel.
Elephant

The Elephant is one of the True Blue Team, in addition to a Kangaroo, Ostrich, Cheetah, and Hippopotamus from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. He’s the goalie of the True Blue Team.
Woolly Mammoths

The Woolly Mammoths are minor characters appearing in Brother Bear and its sequel. They are large elephant relatives that lived from 10,000 B.C to 4000 B.C.
Elliott

Elliott is a young elephant from the Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers episode; “An Elephant Never Suspects“. He is Captain Colonel‘s son.
Lulu

Lulu is a young elephant that resides in the Pride Lands.
Hooter

Hooter is a diminutive green elephant-like alien who appears in the Disney 3D film/attraction Captain EO as one of the title character’s sidekicks. A running gag throughout the film revolves around Hooter sneezing all the time. To top off the gag, seat misters spray the guests whenever he sneezes.
Winifred’s Uncle

Winifred’s Uncle is the uncle of Winifred and a guest character in the Jungle Cubs episodes “Hathi Meets His Match” and “Splendor in the Mud”. He was voiced by Jim Cummings.
Dinky Pachyderm

Dinky Pachyderm is a character from the children’s show JoJo’s Circus. Dinky is a sweet and frisky young elephant and a fellow classmate of JoJo Tickle. While Dinky may be clumsy and somewhat oafish, when he dances, he turns into “Mr. Graceful”. Hide-and-seek is his personal favorite game.
Hazel

Mammoth Mammoth

Mammoth Mammoth is a toon mammoth in the TV series Bonkers and appears as the main antagonist in the episode “A Wooly Bully“. He is voiced by Stuart Pankin.
Max Rebo

Max Rebo (born Siiruulian Phantele) is an Ortolan musician who works at Jabba’s Palace. He is a member of the “Max Rebo Band”, alongside Sy Snootles and Droopy McCool.
Tanya Trunk

Tanya Trunk is a pink female elephant from Disney’s 1993 animated TV series Bonkers. She appeared in “Witless for the Prosecution” and “Get Me to the Church on Time” (from He’s Bonkers) and briefly in “The Cheap Sheep Sweep” and “The Toon That Ate Hollywood“.
Seymour

Seymour is a Muppet elephant who appeared on Muppets Tonight. He worked at the KMUP TV studio with Pepe the King Prawn, first as elevator operators and later as commissary employees. Seymour and Pepe fancied themselves as performers and sought to land a spot on the show whenever possible.