Elephant coloring pages
Free printable elephants · All ages
Elephants are gentle on paper. The body is one of the simplest big shapes in the catalog — a barrel with four columns — which means kids can spend most of their attention on the trunk, ears and tusks. Asian elephants have smaller ears and a more rounded forehead; African elephants have wide ears that look almost like the shape of the continent.
- Habitat
- African savannas, forests and Asian jungles.
- Diet
- Herbivore — grass, leaves, bark, roots and fruit; up to 300 lbs per day.
- Size
- Largest land animal — up to 13 ft at the shoulder, 14,000 lbs.
- Best for
- All ages
About this animal
Meet the elephant
Elephants are gentle on paper. The body is one of the simplest big shapes in the catalog — a barrel with four columns — which means kids can spend most of their attention on the trunk, ears and tusks. Asian elephants have smaller ears and a more rounded forehead; African elephants have wide ears that look almost like the shape of the continent.
- Habitat
- African savannas, forests and Asian jungles.
- Diet
- Herbivore — grass, leaves, bark, roots and fruit; up to 300 lbs per day.
- Size
- Largest land animal — up to 13 ft at the shoulder, 14,000 lbs.
Coloring tips
How to color a elephant
Use a flat medium-gray over the entire body and a slightly darker gray inside the wrinkles. Pink the tip of the trunk, inside the mouth and inside the ears. The tusks should be off-white, almost cream, not pure white. A few cracked-mud strokes on the legs sells the realism without much effort.
Looking for more variety in the same style? Browse the other safari animals or head back to the full animal hub.
Step-by-step
How to color this elephant
Five short steps that work for any age. Crayons, colored pencils and markers all work — pick whichever your child reaches for first.
Print the page
Save the elephant coloring page to your device, then print it on standard letter or A4 paper. Thicker paper (around 90 gsm or 60 lb) handles markers without bleed-through; regular printer paper is fine for crayons and colored pencils.
Lay down the savanna base
Most safari animals share a warm sandy-gold base coat. Color the whole body with light yellow-tan, then go over it once more so the color is even. Save the chest, belly and inner ears for white or cream.
Plan the pattern
Stripes for tigers and zebras, spots for cheetahs and giraffes, manes for lions — these patterns are what make safari pages exciting. Sketch the pattern in pencil first, then ink over it with a darker color.
Anchor the scene
Add tall yellow-brown grass at the feet and one acacia tree in the background. A pale orange sunset behind the animal turns a flat coloring page into a small wildlife scene.
Finishing touches
When the colors are where you want them, trace the main outlines with a thin black pen to make the elephant pop off the page. Date the back, snap a photo for the family album, then stick the finished page on the fridge.
What you'll need
A quick supplies checklist
Don't have everything? A printer, a piece of paper and a single crayon is enough to get started. The rest is optional.
Printer
Color or black-and-white both work. Set the print size to 'fit to page' and use letter or A4 paper.
Paper
Standard 20 lb (75 gsm) printer paper for crayons; 60+ lb (90+ gsm) for markers so the ink doesn't bleed.
Crayons
Best for ages 3-5 — forgiving on small hands, no smearing, and bright enough to feel finished in minutes.
Colored pencils
Best for ages 6+ and adults — perfect for shading, blending and the detailed pattern variants.
Markers
Bold, fast results. Pair with heavier paper so the ink stays on the page and doesn't soak through.
Did you know?
Fun facts to share while you color
Read these out loud — they turn a 20-minute coloring session into a quick science lesson.
Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.
They use their trunks for breathing, smelling, drinking and grabbing food — and even hugging.
Elephants mourn their dead and have been observed visiting the bones of relatives.
An adult elephant drinks up to 50 gallons of water a day.
You might also like
Kids who color elephants also like
Giraffe coloring pages
Giraffes are the page kids want when they're ready to take their time. The body is mostly neck and the neck is mostly pattern, which makes the giraffe the savanna's answer to a mandala. The trick is keeping the spots irregular enough to look natural — not a checkerboard, not perfectly round.
Lion coloring pages
The lion is the safari page kids reach for first. Males come with a built-in challenge — the mane — that turns an otherwise plain head into a swirling halo of fur. Females are sleeker and a good option for younger children who'd rather color a simpler shape. Either way, the page reads as 'powerful' before a single crayon hits paper.
Zebra coloring pages
A zebra is a horse-shaped page with a pattern instead of a coat. That makes it surprisingly approachable: kids who already know how to color a horse only need to swap one solid color for a striped one, and the page transforms. It's also a good way to introduce that 'black-and-white' doesn't have to mean 'plain.'
Tiger coloring pages
Tigers are the page where pattern matters more than color. The orange-and-black stripes are the whole point, and getting them right — irregular, vertical and never quite symmetric — is what separates a beginner's tiger from a confident one. It's one of the best pages to introduce the idea that coloring is also drawing.
Monkey coloring pages
Monkeys are the safari group's wild card. They're shaped like small people, which makes the face the most expressive in the catalog, and the long tail wraps around branches in ways that create instant scene-building. Pair one with a banana and the page is finished without any background work at all.
Cheetah coloring pages
Cheetahs are the slimmer, more athletic cousin to the lion and tiger. The page is built around two things: the spotted coat and the dark 'tear lines' running from the inner eye down past the mouth. Get those two right and the animal reads instantly as cheetah, not leopard.
Safari animals
More safari animals coloring pages
Safari pages are where coloring gets exciting: manes to comb, stripes to plan, spots to map out across a giraffe’s neck. They're a small step up in difficulty and a great way to introduce kids to habitats far from home without leaving the kitchen table.
FAQ
Elephant coloring pages — FAQ
- Are these elephant coloring pages free to print?
- Yes — every elephant coloring page on this site is free to download, print and color for personal, classroom and library use. No watermark, no signup.
- What age are elephant coloring pages best for?
- All ages. Asian elephants have smaller ears and a more rounded forehead; African elephants have wide ears that look almost like the shape of the continent.
- What colors should I use for a elephant?
- Use a flat medium-gray over the entire body and a slightly darker gray inside the wrinkles. Pink the tip of the trunk, inside the mouth and inside the ears. The tusks should be off-white, almost cream, not pure white. A few cracked-mud strokes on the legs sells the realism without much effort.
- What do elephants eat and where do they live?
- Herbivore — grass, leaves, bark, roots and fruit; up to 300 lbs per day. African savannas, forests and Asian jungles.
- What other animals are similar to a elephant?
- Try our giraffe, lion, zebra coloring pages — kids who finish a elephant page usually enjoy those next.
Looking for something else?
Browse all 41 animals in the catalog — pets, farm, safari, forest, birds, ocean and insects.
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