According to research, elephants in the wild often live to be sixty or more years. Female elephants live in matriarchal herds of extended family members with a female remaining with her mother’s family until death. In their early teens males are rejected from the female herd and join loose-knit bachelor groups until they mature, at which time they begin to live a semi-solitary life. The longevity and society of this long-lived mammal are documented by decades of field research and zooarchaeology, resulting in volumes of information about the species.

More distressing information has surfaced regarding the quality of life for elephants living in captivity. According to a 2008 study on elephants living in zoos, it was determined that the average life span of an elephant living in captivity was, at best, half of their natural life span. This disclosure is significant and provides evidence that life in captivity results in elephants dying prematurely. Many US zoos responded to the news by changing their educational signage and promotional response. Historically, zoos have accurately stated that elephants, as a species, live well into their 60s, but now many zoos assert that the average life span of an elephant is 45 years; an assertion that is not consistent with science-based longevity estimates.

Why is this?

Records provide sound evidence that elephants are dying prematurely in captivity. Nearly half of all elephants in captivity are held in zoos. What horrors do captive elephants endure to cause them to die prematurely—decades prematurely? The answer is sadly simple. Captive elephants are forced to live a sedentary life, standing on concrete in relatively small spaces, denied the social interactions required of this complexly social creature, resulting in captivity-induced diseases; diseases not seen in wild elephants.

Osteomyelitis (bone infection) is the #1 cause of premature death in elephants living in zoos and circuses, while Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has recently been identified as beingresponsible for the outbursts of aggression and self-mutilation observed in many captive elephants.

Presentation and signing of City and County Proclamations to Carol Buckley and Scott Blais in Hohenwald.

Governor's Proclamation