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Location
Found in the Harad, in the south of Middle-earth
Species
Various species of the order Proboscidea1
Meaning
From Greek elephas, meaning both 'elephant' and 'ivory'; the more ancient origins of the name are obscure2

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 January 2009
  • This entry is complete

Elephants

Giant beasts of the southern lands

While we know much of the great elephant-like creatures known as the Mûmakil, it is not certain whether their lesser cousins that are still known today existed in Middle-earth. Gandalf does mention them in The Hobbit, so it is possible that they shared the wide burning plains of the Harad with their giant relatives.


Notes

1

All modern elephants belong to the family Elephantidae, but the wider grouping of Proboscidea also includes extinct species such as mammoths and mastodons. The gigantic Oliphaunts (or Mûmakil) would presumably have also fallen into the same broader classification.

2

The archaic English spelling of the name was oliphaunt (or a variant such as olyfaunt). This is the source of Tolkien's name 'Oliphaunt' for the larger varieties of Middle-earth.

See also...

Men of Darkness, Mûmakil, Oliphaunts

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 January 2009
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2000, 2009. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

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Elephants

Giant beasts of the southern lands

Location
Found in the Harad, in the south of Middle-earth
Species
Various species of the order Proboscidea1
Meaning
From Greek elephas, meaning both 'elephant' and 'ivory'; the more ancient origins of the name are obscure2

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 January 2009
  • This entry is complete

Elephants

Giant beasts of the southern lands

While we know much of the great elephant-like creatures known as the Mûmakil, it is not certain whether their lesser cousins that are still known today existed in Middle-earth. Gandalf does mention them in The Hobbit, so it is possible that they shared the wide burning plains of the Harad with their giant relatives.


Notes

1

All modern elephants belong to the family Elephantidae, but the wider grouping of Proboscidea also includes extinct species such as mammoths and mastodons. The gigantic Oliphaunts (or Mûmakil) would presumably have also fallen into the same broader classification.

2

The archaic English spelling of the name was oliphaunt (or a variant such as olyfaunt). This is the source of Tolkien's name 'Oliphaunt' for the larger varieties of Middle-earth.

See also...

Men of Darkness, Mûmakil, Oliphaunts

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 January 2009
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2000, 2009. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Discovery aptitude and skill testing.
Axiom Discovery gives you comprehensive online aptitude testing covering core skills across a wide range of disciplines.