South Africa's Last Zoo Elephant Freed After 40 Years

South Africa’s last zoo elephant has been released into the wild after 40 years in captivity.

The elephant, named Charlie, was captured in 1984 in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park when he was two years old.

He was taken to Boswell Wilkie Circus in South Africa and trained to perform tricks. In the early 2000s, he was transferred to the country’s only national zoo.

Animal welfare groups have been pushing for the elephant’s release in recent years, amid concerns about his health.

On Tuesday, the EMS Foundation, which advocates for wildlife rights, announced that the elephant had arrived at its new home in the Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo province after a “thrilling four-hour journey to freedom.”

The report said the “historic event” followed years of negotiations with the South African government after the EMS Foundation and its partners provided scientific evidence showing that elephants suffer in zoos.

At the zoo, elephant Charlie is said to have witnessed the deaths of four other elephants, including his own calf, which was less than a month old.

In 2019, concerns arose that the elephant was showing signs of stress common in captive animals.

The South African National Biodiversity Institute, which runs the zoo, denied it, saying it was behaviour learned from years of circus life and could never be completely unlearned. The EMS Foundation said this was “incorrect”.

Animal welfare organisation Four Paws, which works with the EMS Foundation, said on Tuesday that the elephant’s retirement was “an important milestone for elephant Charlie, but also for better animal welfare in South Africa”.

“Together with our partners, we have worked tirelessly to end Charlie’s loneliness and help him thrive in his new, species-appropriate home,” said Josef Pfabigan, CEO of Four Paws.

The elephants’ new home is a 10,000-hectare reserve with a thriving elephant population, known for successfully reintegrating animals into the wild.

There Charlie is closely monitored by veterinarians and behavioral experts.

“Our dream is that Charlie will learn at his own pace to be the elephant he was always meant to be, and that he will soon meet and integrate with the existing elephant community at Shambala,” the EMS Foundation said.

According to South African park manager SANparks, South Africa has a wild elephant population of more than 25,000.

African elephants are threatened by poachers, with thousands of them being illegally killed for their tusks each year. They also face habitat loss due to expanding human settlements.