Mac the elephant is listless in his tiny indoor and outdoor stalls at the Kobe City Zoo in Japan. He faces away from the public, who can approach closely to him. Mac sways and makes chirping sounds but is overall listless and unresponsive to his keepers and the crowds. His keeper forces him to do tricks, such as kneel down for small food offerings. Bullhooks are used by staff to punish him and train him to do such tricks.
Mac is an example of how an elephant can become solitary over time. He arrived at the zoo with a female elephant called Zuze, in 1995 but spent the duration of Zuze’s fourth pregnancy alone. Zuze had been taken to another facility to give birth. Upon her return in 2014, they were kept apart. It is not clear whether the relationship between the two elephants deteriorated in Zuze’s absence, or whether it is function of Mac growing significantly larger, as well as more aggressive.
