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The last elephant in South Africa's National Zoo has been released into the wild after 40 years in captivity.
Charlie the elephant was captured in 1984 in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe when he was two years old.
He was taken to the Boswell Wilkie Circus in South Africa and trained to perform tricks. In the early 2000s he was transferred to the country's National Zoo.
In recent years, animal welfare groups have called for the elephant's release due to concerns for his health.
After a “four-hour arduous journey to freedom,” the elephant has reached its new home in the Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo province, the wildlife rights organization EMS announced on Tuesday.
She said the “historic event” came after years of negotiations with the South African government, after EMS and its partners presented scientific evidence showing that elephants were suffering in zoos.
At the zoo, Charlie the elephant is said to have witnessed the deaths of four other elephants, including his own calf, which was less than a month old.
In 2019, concerns were raised about the elephant showing signs of distress common among animals in captivity.
South Africa's National Biodiversity Institute, which runs the zoo, denied this, saying it was behaviour the animal had learned over years of life in the circus and would never forget. EMS said it was “not accurate”.
“The elephant's retirement was an important milestone for Charlie but also for improving animal welfare in South Africa,” animal welfare organisation Four Paws, which partnered with the Emergency Medical Services, said on Tuesday.
“We have worked tirelessly with our partners to end Charlie’s loneliness and see him thrive in his new, species-appropriate home,” said Joseph Fabijan, CEO of Four Paws.
The new home for the elephant is a 10,000-hectare reserve, home to a thriving elephant population, known for its ability to successfully reintegrate animals into the wild.
While there, Charlie will be closely monitored by veterinary and behavioral experts.
“Our dream is that Charlie will learn, at his own pace, to be the elephant he was always meant to be, and that he will soon meet and integrate into the existing elephant community at Shambhala,” EMS said.
Dr Amir Khalil, the vet who led the elephant's transfer, told the BBC that despite the lingering effects of abuse in captivity, “there is always a chance for recovery”.
On concerns about how Charlie would cope with the new environment, he said there were already positive signs of adaptation and Charlie was “very excited to hear other elephants from afar”, with whom he had begun to communicate.
Dr Khalil said it would take some time to prepare the elephant to become self-sufficient, but “we must not forget that Charlie was born in the wild and spent nearly two years with his mother living in freedom.”
He said the elephant was undergoing a rehabilitation and feeding programme, and they were planning to release it in a larger area in the coming months.
“We are convinced that he will gradually get used to all these new experiences.”
There are also three elephants at the Johannesburg Zoo, EMS director Michelle Peckover told AFP.
“We are suing Johannesburg over these matters,” she said.
According to the South African Parks Authority (SANparks), there are more than 25,000 wild elephants in South Africa.
African elephants face threats from poachers, with thousands of them being killed illegally each year for their tusks. Elephants also face habitat loss due to human population expansion.
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