Elephant locations in China

51 locations has kept elephants in China

There is presently 169 (31,43) living elephants in locations in China in this database

China
Region: China is in this database included in asia
Wild elephants: China has about 186 (min. 178, max. 193) wild elephants. Source:Zhang (2011)
Location holdings: 51 locations has kept 200 elephants in China

(Database tables with collection of elephants further down on the page)
Elephants in locations169 (31,43) living 31 (12,15) dead
2008: 200-250 (Sukumar 2008)
1996: 330-370 (Santiapillai, IUCN 1996)

Small but viable herds live in southern Yunnan province. Numbers are rising, thanks to reproduction and immigration of Laos herds.

China is also a large illegal manufacturer and trader of ivory, mostly from African elephants, although some Ivory is also imported leagally.

In July 2008, the Commission on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) allowed a once-off sale of 108 tons of ivory stockpile from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia to China.

2019: 32 baby elephants captured 2018 in Wankie park, were imported to China from Zimbabwe, wia aircraft from Victoria Falls airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

2012-2020: Since 2012, China has imported more than 100 elephants from Zimbabwe to keep in zoos and circuses. They are said to sell for up to $90,000 (£73,600) each.

Poaching


in 1995, four people were executed for poaching elephants for their tusks. Since then, no poaching cases have been reported. (source)

Captive population


All captive elephants are registered under the State Forestry Administration, which is the key governmental agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management. Elephants in zoos are under the management of the Ministry
of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan, Facts about elephants in China. Elephant Encyclopedia, (2026) available online retrieved 2026-04-10 at https://www.elephant.se/country.php?name=China.
(archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources, among others


Internal relevant links


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