Overview

Torn away from her family in Thailand as a baby in 1949, Hanako the elephant (RIP, 2016) was forced to live most of her 69 years alone, in a small concrete enclosure in a Tokyo zoo. She had no soft dirt or grass to stand on or freedom to roam. She was deprived of any true, lasting companionship—which is crucial to an elephant’s overall well-being. Sadly, Hanako died on May 27, 2016—right as our global campaign had taken off to help improve her conditions. We wish there was more we could have done for Hanako, much much sooner. We now work to ensure Hanako’s legacy will be to expose and improve the living conditions of the many other captive zoo elephants who need us. No more elephants should be forced to live their lives alone, in concrete prisons.