After 40 years in a Portuguese circus, Julie the elephant has started again, this time at a sanctuary in Portugal that traces its roots to Suffolk.
Julie was taken from the wild in southern Africa when she was five and joined Cardinali Circus for 40 years. She was the last circus elephant and the last wild animal remaining in any Portuguese circus before the charity Pangea took over her care.
Portugal banned wild animals in circuses in 2024. Julie was moved under a voluntary agreement with the circus, whose director stays involved in her care.
She arrived at Pangea’s 1,000-acre sanctuary in the Alentejo region on 2 July and is the first elephant to join. Another wild-caught female elephant, Kariba, who is alone at a Belgian zoo, will join her later in the year. The sanctuary has capacity for 30 elephants.
Kate Moore, managing director at Pangea, said Julie quickly began exploring.
“It was absolutely wonderful to see; she was in the mud wallow, she was giving herself a dust bath,” she said.
“She’s getting braver and braver by the day.
“She does have some health issues, but overall, we’re just seeing a massive transformation with her in just her first week.”
Moore said Julie could not return to the wild because she had been in captivity for too long, but said her new habitat gave her “the most natural life possible”.
“I am so proud. The fact that she is Pangea’s first resident, but also Portugal’s last circus elephant, I think is really poignant,” she said.
“She absolutely deserves to have a better life, and that’s what we’ve been able to give her. I think she’ll be the first of one of many.”
Julie has also drawn support from pupils at Wenhaston Primary School near Halesworth, who have officially adopted her.
The children have been following her progress through their science studies and have been learning about the history of circuses and elephants.
Zoe, eight, said: “Lots of people used them for entertainment, but it’s not very good to do that because if you were an elephant and you were in a circus, and you kept being trapped, you would be upset and you would want to get out.”
She said she felt “really good” about Julie’s new life at the sanctuary and hoped more elephants would arrive there soon.
“Lots of other elephants are endangered, and some are in circuses, and it’s not very nice,” she added.
Mars, nine, said: “I was a bit upset that Julie was taken away from her mum when she was really young.”
“[I am] really happy [she’s been given a new life] because in the wild it’s their natural habitat. I think she feels really happy.”
Nine-year-old Olivia said elephants should be “in the wild, roaming free”.
“I think it’s really nice, but maybe when she has some friends she might be even happier,” she added.
Emma Skinner, who teaches Year Three and Four classes at the school, said pupils found it hard to grasp how long Julie had spent in captivity.
“So we’ve had to explain how that looks and what the time looks like – the fact that she was five, and then in captivity for 40 years and how long that’s been,” she said.
“We’ve talked a lot about how long elephants live in captivity.
“They’re just completely in love with the fact that she’s been released and is in a wonderful place, doing all these wonderful things that she’s not been able to do for such a long time.”
Read more from BBC News.
