March 6, 1959 A male rogue African bush elephant, a gift from Jose J. Fenykovi, Hungarian-born engineer and big game hunter, and prepared by the museum’s taxidermy staff, is unveiled in the place of honor in the center rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History. At the time of its unveiling, it is the largest land mammal on display in a museum. Fenykovi tracked down and shot the elephant in the Cuando River region of southeastern Angola on November 13, 1955.
On view in the Smithsonian, the largest elephant on record was an adult male African elephant hunted by Jose Fenykovi in Angola in 1955. World-record-setting elephant, taken from Records of Big Game (Rowland Ward, London, 10th Edition, 1935).
Height From ground to withers, 13 feet 2 inches. (Thaw's elephant: 12 feet 2 inches.)
Length From trunk tip to tail tip in straight line, 27 feet 6 inches; whole skin from trunk tip to tail tip, 33 feet 2 inches.
Length of feet Front, 2 feet; rear, 2 feet 1 inches. (Thaw's elephant: one foot 9 inches, which foot not specified.)
Circumference of feet Front, 5 feet 7 inches; rear 5 feet 2 inches.
Circumference of body At widest point, 19 feet 8 inches.
