Too Old to Breed, Too Young to Die: Withering Away With No Hope of Retirement
This year marks the 20th anniversary of our 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America list — a significant milestone in our ongoing fight against the cruel confinement of elephants. Over the past two decades, we are proud to have seen encouraging progress: 41 zoos have closed or pledged to close their elephant exhibits, a powerful testament to the growing recognition that elephants do not belong behind bars. To celebrate this evolution, we’re introducing a new Path to Progress Award.
Despite these advancements, elephant suffering remains rampant. For the second consecutive year and ninth time overall, the Los Angeles Zoo is the #1 worst. This zoo epitomizes the tragic phenomenon of “aging out,” where older elephants become burdens to the zoo as their physical and mental health deteriorates rapidly and they lose their breeding value.
Confinement accelerates elephant aging: elephants in zoos die at half the age of their wild counterparts.
While elephants in the wild continue to have calves into their 50s and live far longer, zoos often stop breeding and start individuals as young as 30 on “end-of-life” care. Instead of addressing this premature decline, zoos perpetuate a vicious cycle of suffering by eagerly replacing aging elephants with ticket-selling babies, condemning more animals to suffer.
As we have long reported, zoos are directly killing young elephants through reckless breeding programs. Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) kills half of all elephants in zoos under the age of 13. Those who survive past this grim threshold often endure a slow, painful march toward death.
Growing old in zoo captivity is a curse, not a blessing.
Take Csar at the North Carolina Zoo, a classic example of premature aging in zoos. Csar developed chronic arthritis in his 30s. Now at 50, his mobility has diminished to the point where he sometimes needs a hoist to help him stand. In addition, he is nearly blind, making it more difficult to navigate inside his 3.5-acre enclosure. His poor quality of life in the zoo stands in stark contrast to the freedom he would have enjoyed in the wild.
It’s likely that zoos contribute to premature aging of elephants through the cumulative effects of prolonged stress (with its neural consequences) and acceleration of health issues (e.g., foot problems, digestive problems).
— Bob Jacobs, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience, Colorado College
Scientific evidence confirms that zoos actively contribute to premature aging through confinement, social isolation, and relentless stress. Elephants evolved to roam up to 30 miles a day, a vital activity denied to those confined in zoo enclosures thousands of times smaller than their natural range. This lack of movement results in devastating health issues like osteoarthritis, lethal foot disease, and zoochosis — abnormal, repetitive actions linked to brain damage caused by chronic stress.
Tonka’s tragic tale underscores the urgent need for zoos to release aging elephants before it’s too late.
After 43 long years in a barren enclosure at Zoo Knoxville, Tonka was finally slated for retirement to a sanctuary in Tennessee. Tragically, chronic pain from a swollen leg led to him being euthanized just weeks before his journey. His neighbor, Jana, made it to the sanctuary but died after enjoying just six months of freedom. Despite Zoo Knoxville’s commendable choice to send its elephants to sanctuary, only Edie is now living out her happily ever after.
This year’s list is dedicated to Tonka and all elephants who have suffered similar fates. Zoos must stop “aging out” middle-aged elephants and instead start “moving out” older animals to real sanctuaries now, before they succumb to zoo deprivations. Breeding programs that perpetuate premature aging and condemn more elephants to zoo-related suffering must end. Zoos must begin releasing older elephants to sanctuaries now, while they have a chance to reverse premature aging and taste the freedom they so deeply deserve.
Celebrity Support To Release Elephants From the 10 Worst Zoos
American actress and neuroscientist, Mayim Bialik, best known for her roles in Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, and actor, director and screenwriter James Roday Rodriguez, best known for his role in Psych, are supporting In Defense of Animals’ exposé of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants 2024. They join Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman, Jorja Fox, Harley Quinn Smith, Ricky Gervais and Moby, who have pledged their support to In Defense of Animals to end captivity for elephants in zoos.
10 Worst Zoos 2024:
- Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Los Angeles, California
- Bronx Zoo, Bronx, New York
- Edmonton Valley Zoo, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, Texas
- Two Tails Ranch, Williston, Florida
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, Topeka, Kansas
- Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona
Path to Progress Award: Oakland Zoo, Oakland, California
2024 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America
#1 Worst Zoo - Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Los Angeles, California
Two Elephants Too Long in a Tiny Exhibit
Left: Billy is forced to perform a risky pose. Right: Tina is confined for life in a tiny enclosure. Photos: Hollywoodcitygal/Instagram, Elephant Guardians of Los Angeles
For the second consecutive year, the Los Angeles Zoo takes the top spot on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list. This is the first time we have selected the same zoo as the number one worst zoo two years in a row, and the ninth time Los Angeles Zoo has been on the list. The primary reason is the dire situation faced by its two remaining Asian elephants, Billy and Tina, who have spent decades in confinement and isolation, breaching the Association of Zoos & Aquariums standard of care for elephants, which requires elephants to live in social groups of at least three elephants.
Billy, now 39, has been confined at the zoo for 35 years since being taken from his home in Asia at just 4 years old. Billy has been the subject of a long-running legal battle and a high-profile campaign to free him, backed by prominent celebrities, including Lily Tomlin and Cher. Tina, now 58, was stripped from her family in Malaysia when she was just a year old and forced to perform in U.S. circuses for 30 years before being sent to the Los Angeles Zoo in 2010.
Both elephants suffer from severe zoo-related medical problems. Billy experiences recurring foot problems — one of the most common causes of death for elephants in zoos — while Tina suffers from osteoarthritis, joint disease, and bouts of lameness. But the most glaring and disturbing condition the elephants share is their chronic zoochotic behavior. Billy almost constantly bobs, paces, and sways — classic signs of brain damage caused by mental distress in captivity. He is also forced to perform, standing on his back legs for a “show and tell” about his training. Tina's zoochotic behavior has dramatically intensified since the death of her friends, Jewel and Shaunzi, leaving her isolated and suffering.
Wild elephants spend much of their time foraging on trees, wild plants, roots, and grasses. Billy and Tina are not only deprived of this natural behavior, they are actively prevented from doing it by electric wire that wraps the trees and fencing. In his desperation to fulfill his innate need, Billy manages to avoid or endure the electric shocks to snatch nibbles of plants that surround his barren yard. Though Billy is not old by wild elephant standards, captivity has aged him prematurely. His chronic captive health problems are ones normally found in much older elephants. Tina, meanwhile, is already considered elderly for a zoo elephant. She and Billy must be retired to sanctuary urgently to slow their health decline, or even heal from years of debilitating zoo confinement.
Main image: Billy desperately reaches for foliage outside the walls. Insert: The trees are wire-wrapped to prevent foraging. Photos: Elephant Guardians of Los Angeles
As zoos recognize that captivity inevitably damages elephant welfare, 38 have closed their exhibits and many elephants have been freed to sanctuaries. It was too late for Tonka at Zoo Knoxville, who was euthanized at just 45 due to a leg injury — weeks before his retirement. We urge the Los Angeles Zoo to learn from Tonka’s sad story and act now to send long-suffering Billy and Tina to sanctuary immediately before it’s too late. In California, six zoos have already closed their elephant exhibits. Over 14,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have urged the Los Angeles Zoo to follow suit and become the seventh California zoo to make this compassionate decision.
#2 Worst Zoo - Bronx Zoo, Bronx, New York
Deeply Deprived for Half a Century
Happy? Not at the Bronx Zoo where elephants endure unimaginable suffering and isolation. Photo: Nonhuman Rights Project
Nearly 20 years ago, the Bronx Zoo publicly committed to shutting down its elephant exhibit when another death occurred, declaring it “inhumane” for an elephant to live in isolation. Yet despite Maxine’s death in 2018, Asian elephants Happy and Patty remain at the zoo, enduring years of isolation, breaching the Association of Zoos & Aquariums standard of care, which requires elephants live in social groups of at least three, while the zoo continues to deny them the sanctuary retirement they deserve. This year marks the 11th time the Bronx Zoo has appeared on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list, highlighting its failure to honor its promise. Instead, these two highly social senior elephants are forced to “age out” in solitude, confined to separate barren enclosures, suffering through New York’s freezing winters.
Happy and Patty have been held captive for half a century, and their lives have been deeply deprived. Research shows that impoverished environments like these have dire detrimental consequences. Elephants possess highly complex cognitive capacities and are particularly vulnerable to the chronic stress of captivity, which can cause irreversible neural damage. In one tragic example, 22 years ago, Patty fatally attacked Happy’s companion, Grumpy, during a period of heightened stress. This incident was likely triggered by the zoo’s extreme lack of space — Patty has had access to little more than one acre of land for the last 50 years, a far cry from her wild habitat where she would naturally roam up 17 miles a day or more.
Patty has been forced to spend half a century with nowhere to roam. Photo: Nonhuman Rights Project
Following Grumpy’s death, the zoo erected barriers to separate the elephants, further reducing their claustrophobic space. Initially, the zoo claimed the barriers were to protect Happy, but later blamed her for not getting along with other elephants. Deprived of natural social bonds crucial to elephant well-being for the past 17 years, Happy has now started to retreat from the world.. Over the summer, she was not seen for two months, raising serious concerns about her health. While the zoo insists she is “fine” and prefers to be indoors, Happy was recently spotted lying down outside her barn, exposing her severely damaged feet — a heartbreaking sign of her suffering.
What the public cannot see is the tiny elephant cage Happy returns to each day, hidden from view. Still, her actions speak volumes: she can no longer mentally cope with her environment. Both Happy and Patty are in desperate need of a stimulating, natural environment with ample space to roam — somewhere they can experience the social and cognitive enrichment they have been denied for so long. It’s not too late for the zoo to make the compassionate choice. Over 15,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have urged the Bronx Zoo to send Happy and Patty to a true sanctuary where they can finally find the peace, space, and sense of belonging they deserve. After more than half a century of captivity, there is still time for the Bronx Zoo elephants to be truly happy.
#3 Worst Zoo - Edmonton Valley Zoo, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Held in a Frozen Hell for 47 Years
Lucy is forced to live in a totally unsuitable environment for elephants. Photo: Lucy’s Edmonton Advocates Project
Lonely Lucy is growing old in the coldest zoo in North America. Her poor arthritic body has suffered through months of below-freezing weather every winter for nearly half a century. As the sole elephant at Edmonton Valley Zoo, Lucy should have been retired to a sanctuary years ago when she was healthy and fit. Yet she remains trapped, enduring months of solitary barn confinement during the long, frigid winters, threats of violence with a bullhook, and failing health — all while the zoo steadfastly refuses to send her to a warm and spacious sanctuary she desperately needs. It is for these reasons that Edmonton Valley Zoo is on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list this year for an astonishing 11th time.
Torn from her wild home in Asia at just two years old, Lucy exemplifies why elephants should never be forced to endure a lifetime in zoo captivity. Conditions at the zoo barely meet, and in some cases breach, the minimum standards set by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA). CAZA requires three or more elephants to provide adequate social interaction, yet Lucy has lived alone since 2007. Additionally, her barren enclosure spans just half an acre — less than 1% the size of her natural range. Adding insult to injury, Lucy is controlled by a weapon so cruel it has been banned by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in the U.S.
Lucy’s health has deteriorated due to decades of captivity. She suffers from arthritis, severe respiratory problems, malformed teeth, uterine leiomyomas, and debilitating foot disease with pus-filled lesions. Research indicates that elephants confined to impoverished, stressful environments often experience brain damage, contributing to stereotypic zoochotic behaviors like Lucy’s repetitive rocking and weight-shifting. In 2022, four veterinarians assessed Lucy’s suitability to travel to a sanctuary. While two vets concluded that she was fit for transport, the zoo chose to heed the opinions of two other zoo-affiliated veterinarians to keep her imprisoned. The zoo was ordered to improve Lucy’s diet and indoor facility, and despite her resulting health improvement, Edmonton Valley is still denying her the opportunity to retire and heal from her dreary cold life at the zoo.
It is my opinion that it is possible to move Lucy and I do believe she should be moved for her health and welfare. — Dr. Trish London, DVM, CVA
Elephants in Asia have been successfully relocated to sanctuaries in their 70s and even 80s and thrived in spacious, enriching environments with social companions. Lucy will turn 50 in July of 2025. Though old for a zoo elephant, she still has a chance for a better life if action is taken swiftly.
Over 18,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have urged the Edmonton Valley Zoo to honor Lucy’s needs by retiring her to a true sanctuary now so that instead of aging out in a zoo, she can roam free, forge bonds with other elephants, and heal from years of suffering in the bitter cold of northern Canada. That is the vision we hold for Lucy. For this long-suffering elephant, freedom and friendship would be Lucy’s ultimate 50th birthday gift. We urge the Edmonton Valley Zoo to make this dream come true for this forlorn elderly elephant who richly deserves peace and dignity.
#4 Worst Zoo - Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, Texas
A Life Without Herd or Hope
Barricaded alone in a prison-like setting, surrounded by greenery she can’t reach. Photo: In Defense of Animals
For the second time, Cameron Park Zoo has earned a place on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list, this time due to the tragic plight of its solitary senior African elephant, Tembo. Born in the wild, Tembo was once part of a vast, complex social network. Now, at 47 years old, she has spent decades confined at Cameron Park Zoo, enduring heartbreaking isolation since the death of her companion, Tanya, in 2020. In the wild, elephants like Tembo thrive in close-knit family groups, forging deep, lifelong social bonds. Yet Cameron Park Zoo has failed her, leaving Tembo to face a life of loneliness and deprivation, breaching the Association of Zoos & Aquariums standard of care that requires elephants to live in social groups of at least three elephants.
The zoo promised to find a new companion for Tembo through the so-called Species Survival Plan, but this program primarily focuses on breeding and callously breaks as many elephant social bonds as it makes. Breeding programs frequently sacrifice the well-being of individuals like Tembo through traumatic transfers, tearing apart bonded elephants, and perpetuating captivity instead of addressing the deprivations that cause elephants to die faster in zoos than they can reproduce. In the wild elephants can reproduce even in their 40s and 50s. But in zoos, pushing elephants to breed beyond their natural age limits can lead to higher rates of pregnancy complications, stillbirths, and maternal death.
Despite Cameron Park Zoo’s claims of providing care for aging animals, Tembo’s reality is bleak. Her enclosure is less than one acre — less than 1 percent of her natural range. Instead of living in a dynamic, complex social environment, Cameron Park Zoo has reduced Tembo’s existence to revolve around activities like painting which are designed for public entertainment, not her well-being — activities that fail to meet her emotional and psychological needs. Cameron Park Zoo’s troubling track record is another cause for concern: four elephants have already died at the zoo, with an average age of just 25 — alarming, given that elephants have a lifespan similar to humans.
Tembo deserves friends and a real home in sanctuary Photo: In Defense of Animals
Tembo’s age, her solitary confinement, and the zoo’s history of elephant deaths underscore the urgent need for change. Over 16,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have already urged Cameron Park Zoo to make the compassionate choice to retire Tembo to a true sanctuary, where she can live out her remaining years in peace, surrounded by the social structure and space that elephants need to thrive.
#5 Worst Zoo - Two Tails Ranch, Williston, Florida
From Sanctuary Dream to Solitary Nightmare
Asha is growing old in solitary confinement. Photo: Free All Captive Elephants
This is the second time this elephant-abusing ranch has been on our 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list. Two Tails Ranch appeared in 2017 for cruelly training elephants with bullhooks forcing them to give rides, pose for selfies, and even rents them out to circuses and events. In November 2023, the ranch broke hearts again by taking possession of Asha, a tormented 41-year-old African elephant from the disgraced Natural Bridge Zoo in Virginia.
Exploiting elephants isn’t just for the holidays at Two Tails Ranch. Photos: All About Elephants/Facebook
Asha was born wild but endured nearly four decades of exploitation at the notorious roadside zoo where she was brutally prodded to give hundreds of rides under the blazing sun, often without shade or water. Asha has been in the news for years because of an enormous effort by advocates including In Defense of Animals and Free All Captive Elephants (FACE) to highlight her suffering and release her to sanctuary. Yet when a Virginia court ordered the zoo to relocate most of its animals, Asha was spirited away to Two Tails Ranch without proper permits just days before a mass animal seizure. Instead of getting a shot at retirement to a true sanctuary, she is now enduring life in an equally horrendous facility, condemned to isolation in a small pen — a form of torture for a highly social, far-roaming species.
To our knowledge, Two Tails Ranch is not using Asha for rides or renting her out at this point, but she remains in damaging isolation, exhibiting profound zoochotic behavior that reveals she is not coping. Asha has lost one tusk since arriving at Two Tails Ranch — an injury often caused by frustrated interactions with unnatural environments and hazardous objects — yet the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission disturbingly found “no welfare concerns” in October.
While Two Tails Ranch actively makes its elephants’ lives unbearable, it fools the public by promoting itself as a sanctuary. Although its website claims eight, the deaths of Smokey, Roxy, and Luke mean the number is diminished to five, including Asha.. The ranch no longer mentions Bunny,, who would now be 11 years old.
We urge Two Tails Ranch to end Asha’s torment and give her the life she deserves by sending her — along with its other four prematurely-aged and long-suffering elephants — to a true sanctuary. It is long past time to end the cruel confinement and exploitation of these highly evolved, intelligent, social, and far-roaming animals. The 21st century demands better for elephants like Asha.
#6 Worst Zoo - Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sick Senior Circus
Tortured souls trapped behind bars for life. Photo: Nonhuman Rights Project
For the first time, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has earned a spot on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list, due to its inadequate care of five aging African elephants. Dubbed the “Golden Girls” by the zoo, these elephants — Jambo, 41; Kimba, 47; Kimba Lou, 42; Lucky, 44, and Missy, 55 — were all born in the wild and captured at a young age. Despite the zoo marketing their enclosure as a “retirement haven,” the reality is so bad it prompted the Nonhuman Rights Project (NHRP) to file legal action to force the zoo to send its elephants to a sanctuary.
Born wild into the vast expanse of the wild, these elephants are now confined to an enclosure less than an acre in size — an astonishing 40,000 times smaller than their natural range. The so-called “vacation yard” is accessible only a handful of times a month in the summer, offering no meaningful relief from the restrictive and monotonous life they endure, especially during Colorado’s long winters.
A short quarter-mile walking path, rarely used, is a poor substitute for the 17 miles or more of rich, diverse habitat elephants naturally roam daily in the wild. The toll of decades of confinement is evident, with all five elephants exhibiting stress-induced, repetitive zoochotic behaviors like swaying and head-bobbing — clear signs of trauma and brain damage caused by captivity.
Missy, the eldest at 55, is blind in her left eye and requires daily injections to manage arthritis. Jambo is the youngest at 41 and has a particularly tragic tale. Following federal complaints we filed about her likely continued use in public entertainment after killing her circus keeper, Jambo arrived at the zoo. We had hoped this would mark the end of her life of performance and solitary confinement, but those hopes were shattered. Jambo now faces isolation once more — a cruel punishment for a highly social species.
Tragically, all five elephants have been exploited to perform degrading acts like painting and “yoga,” a haunting reminder of the fear, violence, and exploitation they’ve suffered throughout their lives. During performances, the elephants are made to contort their bodies into unnatural poses or paint with pigment applied to their sensitive trunks.
While Cheyenne Mountain Zoo attempts to paint a picture of compassionate care, the harsh truth is that these elephants remain trapped in miserable confinement, unable to engage in natural behaviors essential to their well-being. It’s time for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to end its tired circus and free the prematurely aged Golden Girls to a true sanctuary. There they can experience peace, freedom, and the ability to roam and socialize without restrictions or fear which is their wild birthright.
#7 Worst Zoo - Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, Topeka, Kansas
Slow Death in a Desolate Environment
Senior elephants enduring exploitation for profit. Photo: Topeka Zoo/Facebook
This is the 8th time the Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center has made our list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants. African elephant Tembo, 53, and Asian elephant Cora, 65, have spent decades languishing in this problem-plagued zoo, where their confinement in a tiny enclosure contributes to their physical and mental deterioration.
Wild-born elephant Cora, abused in circuses for many years, arrived at the Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center in 2016. She has lost all her top teeth, so her food has to be ground through a grain chipper. Despite her advanced age and a recent brush with death, the zoo is still exploiting her to ratchet up ticket sales. On her last birthday, the zoo raffled off a chance to bathe Cora. Elephants are made to accept this kind of close contact which is not permitted in any true sanctuary. As a former movie and circus performer, Cora is easily compliant due to her years of brutal, fear-based training.
Tembo, captured from the wild at just two years old, has spent 51 grueling years incarcerated in Topeka Zoo’s desolate, diminutive exhibit. Denied the ability to roam or engage freely in natural behaviors, Tembo suffers in an environment that fails to meet zoo industry or animal welfare requirements for adequate space and enrichment. Topeka’s cold winters exacerbate the elephants’ suffering, especially for aging elephants vulnerable to arthritis and other cold-induced health problems.
The zoo’s exploitation of these elephants extends to public performances. Keepers have been known to rub their sensitive trunks with paint to create artworks for visitors to buy — a degrading practice emblematic of their lives of exploitation.
Over 13,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have demanded the Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center to close its cruel elephant exhibit. Tembo and Cora deserve far better than being compelled to age out in this stark, impoverished prison until they die. It is long overdue for this zoo to prioritize Tembo and Cora’s well-being over visitor entertainment by giving them the peaceful and enriching retirement they desperately need in an elephant-centered old age sanctuary home.
#8 Worst Zoo - Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, Arkansas
Callous Confinement of Old Elephants is Elder Abuse
Elderly elephants Babe and Zina are exploited as bait to sell tickets. Photos: Little Rock Zoo/Instagram
For the third time, Little Rock Zoo has earned a place on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants. The zoo’s two remaining Asian elephants — Babe, 48, and Zina, 64 — both born in the wild, have endured decades of exploitation, first in circuses and now confined in a cold climate zoo enclosure that spans less than 2 acres, indoors and out.
Sophie, 56, was placed in hospice in July of 2024, and after suffering for 7 years from a painful and deadly infection of the uterus and chronic arthritis, common to zoo elephants, was euthanized in October. Sophie is a tragic example of an older elephant who never had a chance to experience life in a sanctuary.
Sophie suffered for 7 years before her untimely death. Photo: Little Rock Zoo/Instagram
Even in their advanced years, these elderly elephants must continue to perform for zoo profits. Visitors are lured in with “Elephant Experiences,” where they can participate in spectacles like elephant bathing and painting. These unnatural activities are only possible because of the elephants’ brutal circus training as youngsters with bullhooks — a device designed to control elephants through pain and fear which may still be used at Little Rock.
Babe carries deadly elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) and suffers from ovarian cysts. Zina, at 64, is considered ancient for a zoo elephant. Old age is not a happy or peaceful time for zoo elephants. After more than half a century confined to desolate, tiny enclosures, Zina is still forced to perform degrading tricks for visitors — this is nothing short of elder abuse. It is tragic but unsurprising that the elephants show repetitive movements of zoochosis, a sign of brain damage caused by poor captive conditions.
It's time for Little Rock Zoo to follow the lead of the 38 zoos that have already closed their elephant exhibits and make the compassionate choice to send their two aging elephants to a true sanctuary. These magnificent animals deserve to live out their remaining years in spacious, natural environments, where they can finally experience autonomy, peace, and dignity before they pass, as Sophie never did.
#9 Worst Zoo - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio
Senior Elephants Deserve Serenity in Sanctuary
Mai Thai, Schottzie, and their younger companion, Jati, are confined in a zoo that falls profoundly short of their needs. These elders deserve early retirement from Cincinnati Zoo. Photo: Lynn Smart
For the third time, Cincinnati Zoo has earned a place on our 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list. Previously, we exposed the intense aggression and bullying among its Asian elephants, a direct result of cramming them into a tiny, inadequate exhibit in a cold climate, unsuited to tropical elephants, with no way to escape from conflict. This year, our focus is on two elephants, Mai Thai, 51, and Schottzie, 49. Considered old by zoo standards, they have endured years of suffering, jammed into the zoo’s new $50 million overcrowded exhibit.
Mai Thai was born in the wild, but at just one-year-old, she was ripped from her natural habitat and shipped to Cincinnati Zoo. Over the years, she suffered traumatic transfers three times back and forth between Cincinnati and Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri, likely for breeding. Her companion, Schottzie, faced a similar fate. Born at Copenhagen Zoo, she has been torn away from her companions again and again, enduring five harrowing transfers before being deposited at Cincinnati Zoo.
Both Mai-Thai and Schottzie have endured severe psychological and emotional damage from years of transfer abuse and have been languishing at Cincinnati Zoo for 18 years. Adding to the suffering of harmful constricted confinement, the zoo exploits Mai Thai by making her paint pictures to entertain visitors and profit the zoo. This unnatural trick, like most circus-style performances, is likely trained through fear and coercion, inflicting further harm.
Recently, the situation worsened. The zoo’s elephant population doubled after four elephants were imported from Dublin Zoo, with plans to breed even more. While the zoo spent $50 million in a new “Elephant Trek” refurbishment, expanding the enclosure to 5 acres, this space remains woefully inadequate. It’s far from enough space for four elephants, much less eight who now share it — yet the zoo envisions jamming in up to 12. This overcrowding heightens the stressful conditions for Mai Thai and Schottzie, who should not be forced to spend their “golden years” in an exhibit less than 1% of the smallest natural elephant range.
Over 12,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have urged Cincinnati Zoo to stop condemning its elephants to exist in a stiflingly confined and deprived environment. It’s time for the zoo to give Mai Thai and Schottzie the retirement they deserve — at a true sanctuary, where they can experience peace, healthy social dynamics, and vastly more space to roam and heal. Forcing these seniors to live with incompatible elephant inmates in an exhibit that falls profoundly short of their needs is not just unethical — it’s a clear failure of responsibility. After decades of suffering, it’s time to give Mai Thai and Schottzie what they truly need to thrive: release to sanctuary.
#10 Worst Zoo - Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona
Growing Old All Alone in a Barren 1-Acre Exhibit
Desperately lonely in a desolate desert. Photo: In Defense of Animals
Phoenix Zoo, the largest privately owned zoo in the United States, returns to the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list for the second time, following its #4 ranking in 2021. At 59 years old, Asian elephant Indu continues to endure solitary confinement — breaching the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) standard requiring at least three elephants for essential social interaction. Despite repeated calls for action and glaring breaches of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and AZA standards, Indu remains alone, deprived of essential companionship.
Born in Thailand in 1965, Indu was wrenched from her wild family and endured a series of traumatic transfers: to Lincoln Park Zoo in 1966, Houston Zoo in 1979, and finally Phoenix Zoo in 1998. Today, she shares a barren one-acre yard with a rhinoceros, rotating between enclosures. This setup contravenes AWA and AZA requirements for spacious, enriching environments that allow natural behaviors. The exhibit is grossly insufficient, failing to provide relief from Phoenix’s scorching 120-degree summers, lacking sufficient deep shade, and offering only a small water trough that does not allow for full-body submersion — violating AZA standards for temperature management and welfare. Indu can often be seen rocking on the spot — a sign of zoochosis, which means she has become brain-damaged from her impoverished environment.
Elephants are profoundly social, forming deep bonds in their family herd. Indu’s isolation cruelly deprives her of these essential relationships. The zoo’s two previous female elephants, Sheena and Reba, were also born wild but suffered years of chronic health issues in captivity, including arthritis and gastrointestinal problems, before dying prematurely in 2020 and 2021.
If action isn’t taken soon, Indu will follow in Sheena and Reba’s footsteps with a painful decline and death in Phoenix Zoo, where glaring breaches of minimal welfare standards remain unaddressed. At 59 years old, isolated Indu could still have many good years ahead if released to a sanctuary where she can experience friendships with other elephants, roam larger spaces, forage freely, and have a chance to reverse her premature decline. We urge Phoenix Zoo to do the right thing and give Indu the freedom and companionship she deserves.
Path To Progress:
Oakland Zoo, Oakland, California
Making the Compassionate Choice to End Elephant Confinement
Osh starts his new sanctuary life. Photo: Oakland Zoo
For the first time in 20 years, we are honoring a zoo for its progressive treatment of elephants. Oakland Zoo is setting a bold and compassionate precedent by releasing its last elephant, Osh, to sanctuary and closing its exhibit. This decision makes it the second U.S. zoo to publicly acknowledge that even with one of the nation’s largest exhibits, it cannot provide the space far-roaming elephants need to thrive. The only other zoo to make this admission is the Detroit Zoo, when it sent its two aging elephants to sanctuary and closed its elephant exhibit in 2004.
As highlighted in our 2022 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list, insufficient space is a major cause of suffering for elephants in zoos. Chronic mental and physical illnesses including brain damage are rampant in zoos due to cramped conditions. While Oakland’s 6-acre enclosure is among the largest in the U.S., it represents less than 1% of the smallest natural range in their home country of 2,470 acres.
By choosing sanctuary for Osh and closing its elephant exhibit, Oakland Zoo is leading the way toward a more humane future for elephants. We applaud its courageous and compassionate decision and urge other zoos to follow Oakland’s example. One day, instead of languishing in deprived and undersized zoo exhibits, we hope all captive elephants will be free to roam, forage, and socialize in spacious sanctuaries that provide more of the freedom and richness of their natural habitats.
What You Can Do
Thank you for learning about the plight of elephants incarcerated in the 10 Worst Zoos. In Defense of Animals has been publishing the annual 10 Worst Zoos list for 19 years. See which zoos were listed in previous years, learn how we determine which zoos are featured, and discover how the list makes a difference for elephants in captivity here.
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