What happened to the elephants at the Toronto Zoo?

African elephants Thika, Toka and Iringa left the Toronto Zoo for a California sanctuary. Here's how they're living now. A look back at the controversy surrounding city council's decision to send Thika, Toka and Iringa to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in San Andreas.



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In October 2011, after a spate of elephant deaths and harsh criticism from a U.S.-based animal-rights group, city council voted 31 to 4 to send the Toronto Zoo's three remaining African elephants — Thika, Toka and Iringa — to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif.

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Elephants held at the Monterey Zoo have died under questionable circumstances, including one who was euthanized after being unable to stand due to a painful joint condition and another whose death was hidden from the public but whose necropsy revealed that she had ingested a large amount of sand that blocked and ...

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In recent years, some zoos have phased out elephant exhibits due to the complexity of the animals and their needs.

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After 25 years at Lion Country Safari, the peaceful pachyderms are moving to other elephant-friendly places in the United States.

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It wasn't natural for Winky and Wanda to endure the frigid Michigan winters at the zoo. Despite the zoo's best efforts, both elephants suffered from arthritis. They needed freedom. In 2005, after over a decade of living at the zoo, The Detroit Zoo let Winky and Wanda go.

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In recent years, some larger zoos such as the Toronto Zoo and San Francisco Zoo have phased out their elephant programs, sending their aging animals to sanctuaries in the United States that have far more space.

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Police say six exotic animals were taken from the zoo on Talbot Trail in Morpeth, Ont., on three separate occasions between October and November 2021. The missing animals are a squirrel monkey, lemur, red eclectus parrot, a lime green eclectus parrot and two umbrella cockatoos.

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Five years later, not only did Er Shun give birth to two cubs on Canadian soil, the four white and black-coloured bears also delighted millions of attendees at the Toronto Zoo. All four pandas will be moved to the Calgary Zoo for the next five years to end their 10-year loan.

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In 2006, the Bronx Zoo announced no further elephants would be acquired, a measure taken by other zoos after calls from the public and animal experts stated that elephants do not belong in captivity thus affecting their natural behaviors as social creatures.

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Fortunately, the two elephants in the Bronx Zoo are still alive, but Happy and Patty have been deprived of everything that makes life worth living for members of their species. Along with my colleagues at the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), I am Happy's lawyer.

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Canada has four zoos with elephants, including African Lion Safari in Ontario; Edmonton Valley Zoo in Alberta; and Parc Safari and Granby Zoo in Quebec. All four are using bullhooks in free contact, meaning elephant keepers manage elephants inside their enclosures instead of behind a protective barrier.

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After 20 years of performing for crowds at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, two elephants named Liz and Valerie have been transferred to Wildlife Safari in Oregon.

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African Lion Safari ended elephant rides after 2019 attack.

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There are no longer elephants at London Zoo, but a herd lives at our sister Zoo Whipsnade, which is the biggest Zoo in the UK. This herd of elephants live in the newly built Centre for Elephant Care, which was custom built to provide the perfect home for the breeding group.

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How do they dispose off (sorry for language) a dead giraffe? Zoos often incinerate the bodies of dead animals, even very large ones, because they don't have space to bury them, and there may be concerns about parasites, disease, or drug residue in the body such that it would be a bad idea to let other animals eat it.

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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.

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