After 40 years of captivity , the last elephant in South Africa ’s only national menagerie has been freed and will live the sleep of his life in a 10,000 - hectare ( 24,700 - acre ) game modesty .
Charlie ( sometimes spelled Charley ) was the last African elephant in the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria , South Africa ’s only internal zoo .
He was taken from his family in the wilderness of Zimbabwe when he was around two years old . His captors sell him to the Boswell Wilkie Circus in 1984 where he was used to perform carnival tricks to gawking audiences . In 2001 , he was then go to the zoo in Pretoria where he has remained ever since .
While some other South African zoo still boniface elephant , such asJohannesburg Zoo , Charlie was the last stay one at the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria .
Now , he part the next chapter of his life . The EMS Foundation has announced that Charlie recently made a 4 - hour journey from the zoo to the Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo .
“ The decision was made more than a class ago to kip down Charley . Among a number of factors that were consider was his modern age , ” Nontsikelelo Mpulo , Director of Marketing , Communication and Commercialisation at the South African National Biodiversity Institute ( SANBI ) , enjoin in astatement .
“ Potential horde facilities responded to a call for expressions of interestingness about providing a retirement abode for Charley . Having interrogated the responses , the proposal from the EMS Foundation and Shambala Private Game Reserve to accommodate Charley in his retirement was approved , ” Mpulo explained .
Together with the EMS Foundation andFour Paws , the Shambala Private Game Reserve has put together a outline to help Charlie settle into his new place . He has never fended for himself , so the design will help him reintegrate into a natural environment . The Shambala Reserve has also agreed to share regular health reports with the SANBI for at least a twelvemonth following his arriver to ascertain continued lapse and maintenance .
Charlie will initially be maintain by himself while he adjusts to his new living condition , but the hope is that he will be eventually integrated into Shambala ’s resident elephant herd .
“ Our dream is that at his own pace , Charlie will learn to be the elephant he was always meant to be , and that before long , he will cope with up and integrate into the existing elephant community on Shambala , ” the EMS Foundation say in astatement .
There are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 captive elephant around the macrocosm , many of which are held in “ unfathomable ” conditions , according toElephant Voices .
There ’s ahuge debateabout whether these majestic creatures are suited to life in incarceration . elephant can roam up to 80 kilometers ( 50 miles ) every day , which is impossible to achieve in a closed zoo exhibit . Unable to wander incessantly , many elephants in enslavement develop health problem due to inactivity . Likewise , elephants also maintainvery complex social structure , which are knockout to replicate in captivity .
All of this is reflected in their average lifespan : captive elephant die at around 40 twelvemonth old , while savage ones can live into their seventy .
On the other side of the argument , many zoosclaimthey have a unique opportunity to shape up the conservation and scientific knowledge of elephants . jailed elephants are also defend from many oftheir biggest threats , namely habitat loss , poaching , and conflicts with man .
“ I would rather have elephant in zoos than have them go extinct , ” Robert Hoage , a former public personal matters theater director at the Smithsonian ’s National Zoo in Washington DC , told the journalBioSciencein 2006 .
“ If zoos do n’t get involved , elephant might exist just in museums . Zoos are not great places for elephants , but they are better [ there ] than bushed , ” Hoage add together .
