“Elephant Memory” is an idiomatic expression in Portuguese, which is used to refer to people who have a good memory, who don't forget things easily.
This popular expression arose from the observation of a striking and fascinating feature about elephants.
These animals have a great capacity to store information. For the sake of survival, elephants walk several kilometers in search of water and food and can exactly memorize the locations or get their supplies, even after traveling distances huge.
According to the physiology of elephants, these pachyderms have a denser brain and more lobes than humans, which makes them more capable of storing information.
This is also the title of the first book published by António Lobo Antunes, Portuguese writer and psychiatrist. The book Memoria de Elefante is considered by many literary critics as an autobiography of the author.
Learn more about the meaning and origin of other popular and idioms such as “ostrich stomach" and "hug from anteater”.