Today is World Elephant Day, a time to raise awareness and take action to protect these iconic animals in the wild and in captivity.
At PAWS, we are reminded every day that each elephant is a highly intelligent and emotionally complex individual with her or his own history, memories, and life experiences.
Did you know that:
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Five of the eight elephants at PAWS were ripped from their free-living mothers and families and sold into captivity: Asian elephant Gypsy was forced to perform in circuses for nearly 40 years; Lulu, Mara, Toka and Maggie were confined in zoos.
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Asian elephant Prince was born at a well-known zoo and separated from his mother when he was less than two years old. He was sold to a circus.
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Nicholas, an Asian bull elephant, was born into the circus, where as a calf he was forced to ride a tricycle and perform ridiculous tricks.
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Thika is the only African elephant at PAWS to be born in captivity.
No matter where the elephants were born, they strengthen our resolve to see elephants living freely in their wild homes, protected for generations to come.
Elephants simply do not thrive in captivity, where they suffer serious captivity-related ailments, have shorter lifespans, breed poorly, and experience high infant mortality rates. Captive populations are simply not sustainable – unless more elephants are abducted from their families in the wild and incarcerated for life. This is not conservation. . . it is just wrong.
And please support PAWS’ work to care for our eight rescued or retired elephants – it costs about $70,000 a year to provide comprehensive care for just one elephant!
