Elephants in circuses and roadside zoos are denied everything that gives their life meaning. Many become neurotic, unhealthy, depressed, and aggressive as a result of the inhumane conditions in which they're kept.
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Elephants in circuses and roadside zoos are denied everything that gives their life meaning. Many become neurotic, unhealthy, depressed, and aggressive as a result of the inhumane conditions in which they're kept.
There are at present roughly 305 elephants at 62 A.Z.A.-accredited zoos in the United States. How many are in nonaccredited facilities, circuses and roadside zoos is less clear; PETA has estimated the number at around 70.
You can have a unique experience with an elephant at 72 AZA-accredited zoos. Visit any of these AZA-accredited zoos today to learn more about elephants, how the zoo is contributing to conservation and what you can do to help.
Today, most zoos obtain their elephants primarily through breeding, though occasionally zoos will obtain elephants from semi-captive work camps in Asia or rescue elephants that would otherwise be culled in Africa.
Wild: Wild elephants have long life spans and typically live 60 to 70 years of age. Captive: Captive elephants have significantly lower life spans than their wild counterparts and are usually dead before the age of 40.
The Sedgwick County Zoo has an African-themed village near the African Veldt section that houses all of the elephants. Located in Wichita, Kansas, the Sedgwick County Zoo has the third-largest elephant habitat in the U.S. The African elephants at the zoo roam freely across more than five acres of space.
Conducted in 2012, and published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, the study found that, nationally, zoo elephants walked 3.2 miles per day on average, comparable to the daily distances covered by wild elephants. The Oregon Zoo's Sung-Surin was one of the study's participants, walking an average of 4.7 miles per day.