Elephants in the wild are used to traveling many miles a day in herds of about ten related adults and their offspring. They are very social animals. In zoos, elephants are usually kept in pairs or even isolated. Their enclosures are incredibly small, compared to what they are used to in the wild. Elephants often show many signs of being stressed, such as engaging in repetitive movements, like swaying.

Zoos claim to want to protect species from extinction, which sounds like a noble goal, zoo officials typically favor exotic or popular animals who draw crowds and publicity rather than threatened or endangered local wildlife. The Chinese government, for example, “rents” pandas to zoos worldwide for fees of more than $1 million per year.

And in 2003, the San Diego Wild Animal Park and Lowry Park Zoo captured 11 African elephants, a species designated as threatened, from their natural habitats in Swaziland. Experts, scientists, and researchers who study elephants in the wild strongly opposed the capture, stating, “Taking elephants from the wild is not only traumatic for them, it is also detrimental to their health. ... We believe the time has come to consider them as sentient beings and not as so much money on the hoof to be captured and sold and displayed for our own use.” (Amboseli Elephant Research Project, letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 24 Jun. 2003)



Please don't be fooled by the Zoo. There are plenty of humane ways to educate children about animals, such as visiting a sanctuary, or watching a documentary about wildlife.





Some information courtesy of PETA.