What Life in Zoos Really Does to Elephants

You would be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t absolutely perplexed by wild

elephants. These animals are so large and yet have the most elegant and graceful way about them, they seem to defy all rules of gravity, physics, and anything else that could possibly dictate the rules of their existence. There is no denying the fact that many people have a deep respect for elephants, but sadly, this has not stopped us from ripping these animals from the wild and caging them in zoos for the sake of our entertainment.

Compared to life in the wild where elephants have hundreds of miles of space to roam and the constant companionship of their herd members, life in a zoo is no sort of life at all. Most zoo elephants live in small groupings – sometimes paired with elephants of other species (which is known to increase the risk of certain diseases) – and spend their days standing on hard concrete. Elephants are extremely intelligent and emotional creatures so this sort of existence takes a serious toll on their well-being.

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