About keeping an African elephant alone

[Tomoko Kitamura]

In your country or local government, what do you think about keeping elephants alone?
In Japan, many elephants are confined in small cages all by themselves.

x.com
This is Hanako, a 35-year-old African elephant. She loves Ben the big bull elephant. She loves interacting with her friends like this.
She moved to Sendai alone from Akita six years ago for the purpose of breeding.She was trying very hard to fit in and be happy in her new environment.And she became friends with Ben and the other elephants.
However, Akita City asked her to return to Japan next month.
She came to Japan with Daisuke when she was one year old. He died while she was away.She becomes a lone elephant.Omoriyama Zoo in Sendai feels sorry for Hanako and proposes keeping her as is, but Akita City stubbornly refuses.

 

[The Alligator Lad]

At auckland zoo, NZ, it's two Asian Elephants were set to be relocated to other zoos in australia after failed attepts to get them pregnant using artificial insemination. The younger of the two, Anjalee, was succesfully transferred, but the zoo that was going to take Burma pulled out at the last second, leaving burma all alone for the past year. She has been a lot less active since her buddies departure, so I can imagine that Hanako is going through something similar. Burma is set to be transferred to another zoo sometime this year, so it has worked out eventually. Hoefully Akita City can give her a friend so her wellbeing can be sustained.

 

[Tomoko Kitamura]

Thank you for posting. I learned that New Zealand had the same problem.
Lily, a female elephant who was moved to Akita City in exchange for Hanako, became weak and on the verge of death due to loneliness after the death of Daisuke, a male elephant. She plans to return to Sendai and live happily with her old friends.

Mao, a female African elephant, lives alone in Morioka City, which is next to Akita City.
Many expect Mao and Hanako to live together, but that likely won't happen as both cities claim ownership of them.
Auckland Zoo has made a very brave and thoughtful decision.
I want Japanese people to understand that they need to be kind and considerate towards animals. Thank you for sharing your valuable story with me. Burma is amazing! be happy!

 

[Conor McGarry]

I personally believe that female elephants should not be housed alone, but for males that primarily live most of their lives alone it makes sense that they are alone

 

[Tomoko Kitamura]

I personally believe that female elephants should not be housed alone, but for males that primarily live most of their lives alone it makes sense that they are alone

Thank you for your comment about lonely elephants. There are many lonely female elephants in Japan. Male elephants live alone, but they are not completely lonely and I think they may communicate with other elephants far away in elephant language. Has there been any research on this?

 

[Zoofan15]

It’s been long recognised that female elephants fare best when housed in multi-generational herds of related females. Many people believe that merely the company of another elephant is sufficient, but this doesn’t acknowledge the complexity of the species social structure - which is built upon matrilineal succession.

The problem with holding two elephants in captivity is that one will inevitably die and then the surviving elephant is paired with a new elephants it’s never met before. Bonds can take years to form; and in many cases are never as strong as what you’d expect to see between a mother and daughter.

While some zoos hold solitary bulls, many hold bulls alongside cow herds and report the benefits both sexes gain from their interactions with each other. Bulls furthermore play an essential role in the social development of juvenile and adolescent bulls, fulfilling a mentor role.