PICS: After 40 years in captivity, South Africa's last zoo elephant is freed

Clarence Ford interviews Barbara Friedman about this and other trending news.

Listen below.

After a poignant four-hour journey towards freedom, the EMS Foundation has proudly announced that elephant Charlie has arrived at his new sanctuary, Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo.

At 42 years old, Charlie is the last elephant from South Africa’s only national zoo and the first to be returned to the wild.

Captured from his family in Hwange, Zimbabwe, when he was just two, Charlie spent decades performing in the Boswell Wilkie Circus before being relocated to the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria in 2001.

Now, after 40 years of captivity, Charlie is recovering well in his rehabilitation boma, under the expert care of veterinarians, as he begins to acclimatise to the natural beauty of his new home.

"You know they say elephants never forget – Let's hope he forgets some of the cruelties he endured."

- Barbara Friedman

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