Dumbo is a female Asian elephant who arrived at Nihondaira Zoo in 1969. The following year, another young elephant named Shanti arrived from India. The two spent more than 50 years together before Shanti died in 2022. After sharing her life with the same companion for more than half a century, Dumbo suddenly found herself alone.
As part of Elephants in Japan’s latest investigation into the welfare of solitary elephants in Japan, we visited Nihondaira Zoo to see how Dumbo was living.
Dumbo’s enclosure provided few opportunities to behave naturally. Much of the outdoor area was concrete, with only a small section of sand where she could dust bathe. Although a pool was present, it was shallow and appeared difficult to use for proper bathing. During our visit, Dumbo had no access to her indoor enclosure.
Inside, the elephant house was dark, with bare concrete floors and no visible bedding. Outside, a small number of feeding devices were present but were not being used. We watched Dumbo repeatedly searching for food, stretching beyond the limits of her enclosure to pull in nearby plants that she could not otherwise reach. Even after decades in captivity, her instinct to forage remained strong, despite so few opportunities to do so.
For more than 50 years, Dumbo woke up every day with Shanti by her side. Then, in 2022, that companionship was gone.
Asian elephants form lifelong friendships and depend on the company of other elephants throughout their lives. Instead of growing older beside the companion she had known for more than half a century, Dumbo is now living alone in a world of concrete and isolation.
After everything she has endured and everything she has lost, she deserves more than loneliness. She deserves the comfort and companionship that only another elephant can provide.
