South America’s First Elephant Sanctuary Welcomes Its First Residents

Maia and Guida, who were forced to perform in the circus for close to 40 years in Brazil, are settling into the freedom of sanctuary life in beautiful ways since their arrival on October 11th.

Truly a global endeavour, the Global Sanctuary for Elephants (GSfE) in Brazil brings together renowned elephant expert Scott Blais from the Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary in the United States, Dr. Joyce Poole, co-founder of Elephant Voices, who has been studying African elephants in the wild for over 40 years, her partner and co-founder Petter Granli, and Junia Machado, head of Elephant Voices in Brazil.

This elephant sanctuary is the first in South America. With a near perfect climate, diverse foraging, and government agencies that are ready to confiscate abused elephants, the GSfE is ready to take in abused elephants from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela.

South America’s first elephant sanctuary is a testament to the changing public perception that circuses and zoos are cruel. Five countries in South America have banned the use of performing elephants, and many countries are following suit.

This is a milestone for elephant welfare worth celebrating!

In Defense of Animals, along with advocates worldwide for elephant welfare, are helping people understand that elephants deserve respect, protection, as well as time and space to heal from abuse. Working together, we can bring about real and lasting change for elephants exploited in captivity.

To learn more about how you can help elephants with In Defense of Animals click here.

Watch Maia and Guida being their beautiful elephant selves in their new home here.

To learn more about the Global Sanctuary for Elephants work in Brazil, click here.