Mother elephant and calf, Portland Zoo. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

While many people are fascinated by nonhuman animals, most do not have the time, money, or opportunity to travel to remote natural habitats where these animals live freely. Instead, zoos relocate animals for the convenience of humans, offering guaranteed viewings and encounters that fit our schedules. Unfortunately, this convenience often comes at a high cost to the animals. For elephants in particular, captivity presents unique hardships beyond mere discomfort. The elephants experience fundamental disruptions to their natural behaviors and environments.

While wild elephants face serious threats like poaching and habitat loss, captivity is not the answer. Zoo owners argue that keeping elephants in captivity helps conserve endangered species. However, proper conservation only happens in the wild, and zoos often exploit animals for profit, prioritizing human entertainment and business interests over the animals’ well-being.

This article examines the threats to elephants in the wild, the harm caused by captivity, how zoos exploit baby elephants, and how to identify fake sanctuaries. We will also look at some of the worst zoos for elephants in the U.S. and suggest ways to alleviate the suffering of elephants still in captivity.

Wild Elephants Face Numerous Threats

Elephants are native to two continents, Africa and Asia, and their prehistoric ancestors have roamed the earth for as far back as 40 million years. Today, both species of elephants face a range of threats. Habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and poaching are among the most significant challenges, leading to Asian and African elephants becoming endangered.

Elephants are divided into two main species—African and Asian—each with distinct subspecies. The African elephant includes the savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana africana), which is the largest and roams the open plains, and the smaller forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), adapted to life in Central and West Africa’s dense rainforests. Some scientists now consider the forest elephant a separate species due to significant genetic and physical differences.

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) has several recognized subspecies: the Indian elephant (E. m. indicus), found across mainland Asia; the Sri Lankan elephant (E. m. maximus), which is the largest of the Asian types and often has no tusks; the critically endangered Sumatran elephant (E. m. sumatranus), native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra; and the Bornean elephant (E. m. borneensis), sometimes called the Borneo pygmy elephant, which is smaller and genetically distinct, though its classification remains debated. These subspecies vary in size, habitat, and physical traits, reflecting their adaptation to different environments across Africa and Asia.

Elephants are frequently poached for their skin and ivory tusks, and in some countries, they are also targeted for sport hunting. Poaching devastates wild populations, particularly African elephants, which are most heavily targeted for their tusks. According to National Geographic, this has resulted in elephants “evolving to lose their tusks.”

African forest elephants have........

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