Welcome home Charlie
The last zoo elephant in South Africa has finally retired in the beautiful bushveld of the Waterberg after many years of negotiations for his release from the zoo.
After months of careful planning, the 42-year-old Charlie was relocated last week from the National Zoo in Pretoria to Shambala Private Reserve, a few kilometers outside Vaalwater.
The nerve-wrecking trip in a custom-built crate, took four hours before Charlie could set foot in his new home as a free elephant.
This historic release followed years of negotiations by the EMS Foundation and the South African government. The Pro Elephant Network provided scientific evidence that elephants suffer in captivity in zoos.
According to the foundation, Charlie was caught as a two-year-old calf in Hwange, Zimbabwe, and sold to the Boswell Wilkie Circus. He was used to performing tricks until he was moved to the zoo in 2001.
Elephants are known to be complex and intelligent animals. They form strong bonds with their family members. Charlie watched three of his friends die during his time at the zoo, as well as his month-old calf. Landa, the last elephant in captivity with Charlie, died in 2020 at the age of 36, much younger than the average age of sixty to seventy years for elephants in the wild.
Charlie has spent the years since then alone. The relocation took much planning and the involvement of many expert teams was imperative.
The EMS Foundation installed the large steel crate at Charlie’s enclosure at the zoo on Wednesday, 24 July and an enrichment programme followed to encourage him to get into the crate. Once he was comfortable walking in and out of the crate, the expert team began to close the doors behind him to get him accustomed to the sound. Following three hours of uploading Charlie and his crate onto a lowbed truck, he left the zoo on Monday 19 August.
At Shambala he was released into a specially designed holding enclosure, to allow the veterinary team to monitor him closely. He will be released into larger areas as he settles. His interaction with other elephants at Shambala will be closely monitored by the game rangers and veterinarians.
Shambala offers 10 000 hectares of pristine bushveld and is home to elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs and other game.
“We are thrilled to see Charlie embark on this new journey back into the wild.
We have assembled the best logistical and veterinary teams from around the world to ensure his safe relocation We are honoured to be part of Charlie’s retirement milestone, allowing him to roam freely in a beautiful game reserve for the rest of his days,” said Dereck Milburn of WeWild Africa, one of the parties involved in the relocation.
The EMS Foundation team has reported that Charlie is doing well and his progress to becoming a wild elephant again is superseding the expectations of the rewilding team.
