When you look at their history, elephants have been portrayed as powerful companions to human beings. There are references of elephants going into battle with human forces and even participating in a famous battle against Alexander the Great. The ironic aspect is that many of the elephant warriors marching into battle were captive servants, much like the many elephants that live in zoos and nature preserves today.
Perhaps the most famous captive elephants are those that travel with circus crews around the world. There is a lot of controversy over how these animals are trained, but despite this, there are many elephant tattoos portrayed with the circus image.
Many elephant tattoos are presented as realistic black and white portraits. Some show the full body of a single elephant with a lot of shading and shadowing. Others show an elephant alongside a baby elephant. One very popular image is that of a baby elephant walking behind a parent with their trunk linked with the parent's tail. Still others show herds of powerful elephants storming along together. Most of these realistic portrait tattoos are created for sentimental reasons.
Other elephant tattoos are created as characters, rather than real animals. There are childlike portrayals of baby elephants and powerful images of the Hindu Elephant God. Some almost appear to be toys because they are so brightly colored and playful in nature.
Elephants are such simple creatures, yet they touch the hearts of so many people around the world. It is amazing how many elephant tattoos are created every year. Checkout these wonderful pictures of excellent artwork.
Picture of mystical elephant with four eyes and handful of money.
