Elephant
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- This article is about generic, nondescript elephants that have appeared multiple times in the franchise. For the Wario World enemy, see Elephant (Wario World). For the friendly NPCs in Donkey Kong Bananza, see Elephant (Donkey Kong Bananza).
| Elephant | |||
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 Screenshot from Mario Kart World | |||
| First appearance | The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 ("7 Continents for 7 Koopas") (1990) | ||
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Bananza (2025) | ||
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Elephants are a real-life species of mammals that has appeared multiple times and serves as the basis of many creatures in the Super Mario franchise. In addition, a few forms such as Elephant Mario and the Elephant Bananza are based on elephants.
History[edit]
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "7 Continents for 7 Koopas", an elephant and several other African animals are transformed into stuffed animals by Kooky von Koopa. Luigi eventually steals Kooky's wand and uses it to turn the animals back to normal, which retaliate by chasing after Kooky.
Donkey Kong Country Returns (3D / HD)[edit]
In Donkey Kong Country Returns and its enhanced Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch ports, Krazy Kalimba hypnotizes an elephant on Donkey Kong Island, and the Tiki Tak Tribe hypnotizes three other species of animals to steal the island's bananas, as shown in the opening cutscene. The tribe has the animals load leaves with bananas and haul them away, with a pair of an elephant and a giraffe pulling each leaf. Both Gong Oh and Wacky Pipes are seen leading such groups, with one group of animals led by the latter seen carting away the banana hoard from DK's Tree House.
In the level Blowhole Bound, an elephant, a zebra, and a giraffe stand on a boat in the background; however, neither Donkey Kong nor Diddy Kong can interact with the mammal. The various animals of the opening cutscene share a single piece of concept art in the Image Gallery, titled "Animal Friends". Postbattle, the ending cutscene, has a shot depicting an elephant standing next to a zebra after being freed from the hypnosis.
Mario Kart World[edit]
Elephants appear in Mario Kart World, appearing loose in an area near Faraway Oasis. Any racers that drive into them are knocked over. There are also elephants tamed by Shy Guys at the finish line of Shy Guy Bazaar.
Missions[edit]
Elephants are featured in the following missions:
| Image | In-game text | Location | Time limit (seconds) | Description | Sticker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Collect blue coins around geyser field! | Faraway Oasis | 20.00 | The player must collect eight blue coins by driving around a field of Water Geysers with several animals wandering around. | 
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Rush from rock to rock through a busy savanna! | Faraway Oasis | 10.00 | The player must reach the goal ring at the end of the course before the time limit expires by driving through four rings located on top of rocks which add 3 seconds to the timer. The start contains a set of Double Item Boxes and a Star Ring, while each ring contains one Item Box. Item Boxes will always give a Mushroom. | 
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Use the herd's help to reach the goal! | Faraway Oasis | 15.00 | The player must enter a Barrel Cannon that launches them to the top of four elephants that they can bounce off of to reach a Star Ring that allows them to glide to the goal ring. | 
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Join the endurance race in the savanna! | Faraway Oasis | 20.00 | The player must complete three laps around a road near Faraway Oasis in the time limit, with other racers participating, Item Boxes scattered throughout, and ostriches as obstacles. Each lap has five rings that each add 4 seconds to the timer when driven through, while the one marking the end of the lap adds 10 seconds to the timer. | 
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Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]
In Donkey Kong Bananza, a species of anthropomorphic elephants appears in the Tempest Layer, although some of the terrain in the layer is shaped like traditional elephants.
Gallery[edit]
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Mario Kart World
