How a Suffolk charity gave the 'last circus elephant' a new life

Portugal's last circus elephant has been given a new life in a dedicated sanctuary, a Suffolk charity said.

Julie the elephant was taken from the wild in southern Africa when she was just five and joined Cardinali Circus for 40 years.

Portugal banned wild animals in circuses in 2024, and she has recently started a new life at a 1,000-acre sanctuary run by the charity Pangea in the Alentejo region of the country.

Julie's story has also captured the hearts of pupils of Wenhaston Primary School near Halesworth, Suffolk, who have officially adopted her.

Julie had been the last circus elephant and the last wild animal remaining in any Portuguese circus before Pangea, which has roots in Halesworth, took over her care.

She was moved under a voluntary agreement with the circus, whose director stays involved in her care.

Julie arrived at Pangea's elephant sanctuary on 2 July and is the first elephant to join.

Another wild-caught female elephant called Kariba, who is alone at a Belgian zoo, will join her later in the year.

The sanctuary has capacity for 30 elephants in total.

Kate Moore, managing director at Pangea, said within a day, Julie was out exploring her new habitat.

"It was absolutely wonderful to see; she was in the mud wallow, she was giving herself a dust bath," she explained.

"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 continued: "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 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 cannot be released back into the wild as she has been in captivity for too long, but Moore said her habitat gave her "the most natural life possible".

Pupils at Wenhaston Primary School have been following Julie's progress for some time through their science studies.

They have been learning about the history of circuses and elephants and have celebrated Julie's arrival at the sanctuary.

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 in the sanctuary and she hoped more 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 he did not like the thought of young elephants being taken away from their parents in the wild.

"I was a bit upset that Julie was taken away from her mum when she was really young," he said.

"[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 believed elephants should be "in the wild, roaming free".

On Julie's freedom, she added: "I think it's really nice, but maybe when she has some friends she might be even happier."

Emma Skinner, who teaches Year Three and Four classes at the school, said the pupils all felt "incredibly lucky" to have adopted Julie, but it had been hard for them to comprehend just how long she 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."

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