The last elephant at South Africa’s National Zoo has been released into the wild after 40 years in captivity.
The elephant, named Charlie, was captured in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe in 1984 when he was just two years old.
He was taken to the Boswell Wilkie Circus in South Africa and trained in acrobatics. In the early 2000s, he was transferred to the country’s national zoo.
Animal welfare groups have pushed for the elephants’ release in recent years over concerns about their 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 “nervous four-hour journey to freedom.”
The organization said it was a “historic event” following years of negotiations with the South African government after the EMS Foundation and its partners provided scientific evidence that the elephants were suffering in zoos.
It is said that at the zoo, Charlie the Elephant witnessed the deaths of four other elephants, including his own calf less than a month old.
In 2019, there were concerns that elephants were showing signs of distress common to animals in captivity.
South Africa’s National Biodiversity Institute, which runs the zoo, denied the claims and said it was behavior learned from years of circus life and could never be fully forgotten. The EMS Foundation said this was “inaccurate.”
On Tuesday, animal welfare group Four Paws, which works with the EMS Foundation, said the elephant’s “retirement is an important milestone for Charlie the elephant and an important milestone in improving animal welfare in South Africa”.
“Together with our partners, we are working tirelessly to end Charlie’s isolation and allow him to thrive in a suitable home with a new species,” said Four Paws CEO Josef Pfabigan.
The elephants’ new home is a 10,000-hectare reserve with a large population known for its success in reintegrating animals into the wild.
There, Charlie will be closely monitored by veterinarians and behavioral experts.
“Our dream is that Charlie will learn to be the elephant he was always meant to be, at his own pace, and that soon he will be integrated into the existing elephant community at Shambhala,” the EMS Foundation said.
Dr Amir Khalil, the veterinarian in charge of the elephant’s relocation, told the BBC that despite the residual effects of abuse in captivity, “there is always a chance of recovery”.
Talking about concerns about how Charlie was coping with his new environment, he said there were already positive signs of adapting to the new environment, with Charlie “very excited to hear the sounds of other elephants from afar” and that he had begun communicating with the elephants.
Dr Khalil said it would take some time for elephants to become self-sufficient, but “we cannot forget that Charlie was born in the wild. He lived freely with his mother for almost two years”.
He said the elephant was undergoing a rehabilitation and feeding program and they planned to release it to a larger area in the coming months.
“We believe he will get used to all these new experiences step by step.”
Michelle Pickover, director of the EMS Foundation, told AFP that there are also three elephants at the Johannesburg Zoo.
“We are litigating Johannesburg on these issues,” she said.
According to the South African Parks Service, SANparks, there are more than 25,000 wild elephants in South Africa.
African elephants face threats from poachers, with thousands of them illegally killed each year for their ivory. They also face habitat loss due to expansion of human settlements.
