What is it about elephants that make them such great candidates for tattoo themes? Perhaps it is the appeal of their graceful long trunks, curved slender teeth jutting out, or huge flapping ears, that makes them perfect tattoo material. Elephants are held in great importance in many cultures, especially the Eastern ones. In India the elephant-headed god, Ganesha is worshipped as the god of good fortune. Many cultures have stories woven around these amazing animals that are the world’s largest land mammals and one of the heaviest species around.
The huge bulky shape of elephants also makes them cool as cartoon characters. You find elephants in many tales ranging from Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book to the more recent Bambi, the cute flying elephant of Disney adventures.
Elephant Tattoo designs range from complex patterns of curves and lines representing the animal shape to many-colored cartoon pictures showing plump baby elephants, to designs with wild elephant faces, to themes that show a small herd of elephants, with the leader in front and the smaller ones of the herd following behind.
You can also find tattoo themes that show elephants doing many fun activities, like playing with soapy bubbles, or singing a cute tune on a piano. Many elephant tattoos also show the large animal with its back dressed up in colorful cloth coverings looking like creatures from an exotic fairy tale.
If you like this article, you might be interested in some of our other articles on Leopard Tattoos, Fox Tattoos, Bumble Bee Tattoos and Biker Tattoos.
Elephant Graphic Design
Solid shades of black are styled with neat graphic design style lines in this powerful elephant tattoo design.
Elephant Intricate Tattoo
Styled in many intricate patterns this detailed tattoo on the forearm brings out the beauty of an elephant.
Elephant Intricate Tattoo
Elephant Color Fun
A beautiful little purple elephant plays happily with red and blue balloons and stars in this cute elephant tattoo design.
Follow The Leader
One big elephant is followed by two smaller ones in this elephants tattoo design shaded in brown with black outlines.
Nature Tattoo
Done in a single color this grand tattoo shows an elephant with a graceful curvy pattern of vines completing the design.
Nature Tattoo
Powerful Elephant Tattoo
Powerful folds of the elephant skin are reflected in this richly detailed yellow elephant tattoo. Check out the spiral patterns in the background.
Baby Bubbles
It’s bubble bath time for this soft-bodied baby elephant shaded in gray and pink in the tattoo design.
Baby Bubbles
My Elephant
Styled in uneven lines with brown shades this is a very unusual custom elephant tattoo with an ‘M’ written on its body.
Wrist Elephant
Soft rounded lines are the key point of this simple and cute elephant wrist tattoo inked in black outlines.
Elephant Balloon Ride
Look at this elephant holding up a huge blue and white balloon as it soars upwards in this quirky tattoo.
Elephant Balloon Ride
Elephant Realistic Face
Done in realistic shades of brown with fine black outlines this powerful elephant head looks like it’ll pop out of the tattoo at any moment.
Elephant Pair
Two dark blue elephants styled in realistic shades stand touching each other in this cute and offbeat couple tattoo.
Shaded Elephant
Soft shades of gray cover this realistic elephant head tattoo design, making it look like it’s been sketched in with a soft pencil.
Shaded Elephant
Royal Elephant Tattoo
This is a beautifully shaded upper back tattoo showing a small elephant decked up with a traditional Indian cloth covering.
African Elephant Pride
Realistically shaded with powerful ink strokes this elephant head against the map of the continent breathes the spirit of Africa.
Savannah Elephant Tattoo
Delicate savannah lands surround the shaded elephant in this African elephant theme tattoo design.
Elephant Colors
Done in a rough ink sketch style in black this elephant tattoo gets a touch of color from the reds and blues on either side.
Elephant Colors
Mosaic Elephant Tattoo
A rainbow pattern of colors makes up this adorable cartoon style mosaic elephant tattoo.
Iron Elephant
Complex geometrical patterns shade this beautiful elephant tattoo done in shades of brown.
Cute Elephant
The pink tongue on this baby elephant tattoo shaded in gray looks especially cute. Check out the tents in the background of the design.
Music Time Elephant
Look at the baby elephant with an oversized round head sitting and making music on the red piano in this cute tattoo design.
Music Time Elephant
Elephant Ornamental Tattoo
Ornamental patterns in fine black ink make up this stylish elephant theme tattoo on the back of the neck.
3D Elephant Mosaic
Triangular shapes in a 3D style make up this geometric red and black elephant theme tattoo with other symbols adding rich meaning.
3D Elephant Mosaic
Jungle Elephant
This gorgeous shaded elephant tattoo near a design of a tree sits on the inner arm of the man.
Colorful Show Elephant Tattoo
It’s show time, says this elephant tattoo on the leg, with its colorful flowers and ornamental patterns.
Colorful Show Elephant Tattoo
Elephant Tattoo Details
Styled in sensitive ink strokes of brown in many shades this elephant design comes alive on the upper shoulder.
Elephant Text Tattoo
Check out the cute little elephant riding a uni-cycle like in a circus in this positive inspiration tattoo design.
Elephant Text Tattoo
Mama Elephant
Delicate shades of gray mark this beautiful tattoo showing a mama elephant with her baby.
Cute Elephant Art
This awesome little tattoo showing a baby elephant with huge ears sits pretty on the side of the body.
Cute Elephant Art
Indian Elephant
Ornaments in pretty shades of red, blue, green, and gold add color to the gray shaded Indian elephant theme tattoo design.
Private Elephant Tattoo
With its trunk upraised this small gray elephant tattoo sits a little above the woman’s waistline.
Private Elephant Tattoo
Odd Couple Story
An elephant and a green turtle wear their red hearts openly in this quirky and colorful tattoo for a couple in love.
New Mother Tattoo
Baby elephant follows Mama elephant in this beautiful elephant theme tattoo design that seems just right for the back of a new mother.
New Mother Tattoo
Ocean Elephant
Patterns of flowers with ocean blue shades in some bits make up this imaginative elephant theme tattoo.
Blue Elephant
This blue elephant head tattoo design comes complete with long yellow teeth. Note the delicate pink shades adding depth to the design.
Blue Elephant
Very nice collection. The elephant designs are very awesome looking tattoo designs. Like it!
Nice collection, but in the introduction, the Disney movie featuring the flying elephant is Dumbo, not Bambi. Bambi was a whitetail deer faun. Other than that, this is an awesome collection and I look forward to seeing more quality compilations!