Tanya the Elephant

Tanya the Elephant was a Thai elephant who became a famous performer on stage and film.

She had been born in the wild and was acquired by German born performance animal trainer Jan Vinicky (stage name Smaha, but nicknamed Jenda) in 1965. and trained her to perform on stage and they subsequently landed in Las Vegas in the late 1960’s. Tanya’s performances captivated audiences throughout the 1970s — she famously performed casino tricks, often playing craps, keno, and slot machines. In fact, Tanya’s slot machine trick was featured in the James Bond movie “Diamonds are Forever.” Jenda and Tanya were invited to perform in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in 1967. Tanya would go on to participate in Circus Circus Hotel & Casino acts in the late 1960s and appear on late night shows like The Ed Sullivan Show.