How tall is an African elephant?

Dimensions

About the African elephant

The African savanna elephant is the largest living land animal, and males are much bigger than females. According to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, adult females stand about 2.5 to 3.0 m at the shoulder and adult males about 2.9 to 3.7 m. Females average about 2,800 kg and males about 6,000 kg. Measured from the tip of the trunk along the head and body, not counting the tail, an adult is roughly 6 to 7.5 m long.

• The savanna elephant's tail measures 100 to 150 cm. [1]
• Male bush elephants often grow as tall as 3.2 to 4 m at the shoulder and weigh up to between 4,500 and 6,100 kg. The largest known bush elephant weighed 10,886 kg (24,000 lb). [3]
• On average, males are more than 20 percent taller than females and nearly twice as heavy. [3]
• San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives average shoulder heights of 8 ft for females and 10 to 10.5 ft for males. Its record male weighed about 24,000 lb and stood 13 ft (3.96 m) at the shoulder. [2]

How many fit?

• ≈ 1.4–2.3 × Human · height lined up end to end match the African elephant · shoulder height
• ≈ 31–77 × Human · body mass on the scales weigh as much as African elephant · body mass
• ≈ 1.4–2 × Gorilla · standing height (adult male) lined up end to end match the African elephant · shoulder height
• ≈ 21–44 × Gorilla · mass (adult male, average) on the scales weigh as much as African elephant · body mass

Counts divide one sourced figure by another. "End to end" uses each object's main measurement; weight and volume rows appear only when both figures are sourced.

How it compares

• 1.4–2.3× An African elephant is about 1.4–2.3 times as tall at the shoulder as an average adult is tall. See side by side
• 1.4–2× An African elephant is about 1.4–2 times as tall at the shoulder as a gorilla is tall. See side by side
• 1.7–2.5× An African elephant is about 1.7–2.5 times as tall at the shoulder as a Holstein cow. See side by side
• 2.1–3.5× An African elephant is about 2.1–3.5 times as tall at the shoulder as an African lion. See side by side
• 0.7–1.2× An African elephant is roughly as tall at the shoulder as a woolly mammoth: between 0.7 and 1.2 times as tall at the shoulder, depending on size. See side by side
• 1/2.9–4.3 A school bus is about 2.9–4.3 times as long as an African elephant is tall at the shoulder. See side by side

Factors compare the shoulder height of an African elephant with each object’s own main measurement (height for a human). Where a size varies, the factor is given as a range.

Notes on these figures

• The mass range runs between the female and male averages, not between the smallest and largest adults. Large bulls can far exceed 6,000 kg (the record is 10,886 kg).
• Sources differ on shoulder height: Britannica says males often reach 3.2 to 4 m, above the San Diego Zoo library's 3.7 m top figure, while the San Diego Zoo animal page gives a lower female average (8 ft, about 2.4 m) than the library's 2.5 m minimum. The record bull stood 3.96 m.
• The live Britannica page blocked automated access. Its figures were read from an Internet Archive snapshot (February 2026); the older URL African-savanna-elephant now redirects to African-bush-elephant.
• The Smithsonian National Zoo has no African elephant species page (the Asian elephant page exists), so San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is the primary source.

Sources

1. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library, African Elephants (Loxodonta africana and L. cyclotis) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics. Accessed 24 September 2026.
2. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Elephant. Accessed 24 September 2026.
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, African bush elephant. Accessed 24 September 2026.