Pretoria Zoo’s last captive elephant is released to the wild

Pretoria Zoo, 2012 © John Karwoski / Flickr creative commons

Thanks to a collaboration between Four Paws and the EMS Foundation, on 20th August Charley, a 42-year-old male African savannah elephant, made the four-hour trip from South Africa’s National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria to the 10,000-hectare Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo province, where he will finally experience freedom after 40 years in captivity. 

Charley was taken from his wild family in Zimbabwe when he was just two years old, and forced to perform tricks in circus shows in South Africa before being moved to Pretoria Zoo in 2001, where he has been languishing ever since. During his time at the zoo, he has watched three companion elephants die prematurely, along with a calf he had sired who died in 2011 at just a few weeks old after reportedly being rejected by her mother. He has lived on his own since his last companion, a female elephant called Landa, tragically died in 2020. Such circumstances must be devastating for such a highly intelligent and socially complex species.

Efforts to secure Charley’s release from the zoo have been ongoing for years. Animal welfare organisations in South Africa have worked with elephant experts and veterinarians to assess Charley’s condition, and to make the case to the government for his removal from the zoo.

The South Africa-based Pro Elephant Network (PREN), of which Born Free is a member, has played a central role in these negotiations over the past five years, providing strong evidence that elephants suffer in zoos and do not belong in captivity, and documenting the decline in Charley’s physical health and behaviour, and the poor conditions in his enclosure.

These efforts finally came to fruition when the South African government announced in July that Charley would be retired and accepted the proposal from South Africa’s EMS Foundation and Shambala to move him to the reserve.

Commenting on the move, Born Free’s Head of Policy, veterinarian Dr Mark Jones, said: “Rehabilitating elephants that have spent decades in captivity for a life in the wild is far from easy, and Charley will doubtless face many challenges along his path to recovery. But at least he now has the chance to learn to become the elephant he was meant to be, to meet other wild elephants, and hopefully integrate well into Shambala’s elephant population. Born Free’s story began with the death of the elephant Pole Pole at London Zoo, who never had that chance. Charley’s story gives us hope.”

A highly-qualified team has been assembled to oversee his rehabilitation.

Mark Jones continued: “Pretoria Zoo has announced that its elephant enclosure will be permanently closed. In doing so, it has sent a strong message that elephants do not belong in zoos, and has set a precedent for others to follow. No elephant should be forced to live a life without hope in captivity, yet around 50 elephants still languish in zoos in the UK, and many, many more are incarcerated in zoos and circuses across Europe and the wider world. Charley’s release reminds us that, with determination and persistence, we can one day achieve our goal of a world where all elephants live in the wild, where they belong. We’re proud to have supported the work of PREN and its members in securing Charley’s release.”

Find out more about Born Free’s campaign to end the keeping of elephants in zoos in the UK and beyond.

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