Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary

E urope’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary, which is opening to offer a more natural environment for some of the 600 animals still held in captivity across the continent, is to receive its first arrivals. Julie, Portugal’s last circus elephant, will be moved next month to the animal charity Pangea ’s multimillion pound sanctuary in the Alentejo, 200km (124 miles) east of Lisbon, close to the border with Spain. She will join Kariba, another female African elephant in her 40s, who is being relocated from a Belgian zoo where she has been living alone. “Kariba and Julie will live in an expansive natural habitat where they can roam freely, bathe and socialise in compatible groups,” said Kate Moore, the managing director of Pangea . “That autonomy is really critical but they will also have expert care as well. Elephants are one of the most sentient and intelligent animals on earth and so they have very complex needs.” The sanctuary will initially occupy 28 hectares (70 acres), with further fundraising required to expand the enclosures across the 405 hectares of the former cattle ranch. The sanctuary’s priority is to provide the elephants with as natural a life as possible and will not be open to the public. There are 36 elephants living in solitary confinement in zoos across Europe and about 40 still required to perform tricks in circuses. Many, including Kariba and Julie, were caught in the wild and brought to Europe in the 1980s and are reaching the end of their lives. …