Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary has welcomed its first arrival, marking a historic moment for captive elephants on the continent. Pangea Elephant Sanctuary, located in the Alentejo region of Portugal, is now caring for Julie, the nation’s last remaining circus elephant, and now the first refugee at the sanctuary.
Taken from the wild when she was a calf, Julie spent most of her life performing in circuses since 1988. Now in her mid-40s, she had been living alone since 2024 following the death of Samba, her last elephant companion. Her relocation follows Portugal’s 2018 legislation banning wild animals in circuses, a legal ban that became fully effective in 2024.
Kate Moore, Pangea’s Managing Director, said, “Julie is the first elephant to call Pangea home, and there could be no more fitting first resident than Portugal’s last circus elephant… Many circuses and zoos across Europe are reaching the point where keeping elephants is no longer possible or appropriate, and they need somewhere to turn. Working in partnership with owners to find the right solution is central to how we operate.”
Due to her history of exploitation, Julie requires dedicated support for mobility and health problems common to individuals of her age and background, which will be overseen by Pangea’s specialist team. She is expected to be joined by Kariba, another female African elephant in her 40s who was captured as an orphaned baby and held captive across European zoos for four decades.
Developed over ten years by UK-based charity The Pangea Trust alongside the Born Free Foundation, Olsen Animal Trust, Fondation Brigitte Bardot, and World Animal Protection, the sanctuary sits on a former bovine ranch spanning more than 400 hectares 200 km east of Lisbon. The location offers space for up to 50 elephants to roam relatively freely, with staff expressing hope that the individuals will help restore the degraded environment.
Sanctuaries like this one are only an imperfect emergency solution to the problem of keeping wild animals in zoos and circuses, so the only proper solution is to completely ban the keeping of both domestic and wild animals in these facilities.
