Mao is a female African elephant who was born into captivity in Japan in 2002. When she was just four years old, she was moved to Morioka Zoological Park to become a breeding partner for the zoo’s male elephant, Tarou. Since Tarou’s death in 2018, she has had to live totally alone.
As part of Elephants in Japan’s latest investigation into the welfare of solitary elephants in Japan, we visited Morioka Zoological Park in October 2025. Mao has more space than many of the elephants we assessed, but she is a living example that space alone does not give an elephant a good life.
Mao’s indoor enclosure has a bare concrete floor, while outside there is limited shade and little to encourage her to search for food or keep her mind active. Although she has both indoor and outdoor areas, she cannot choose when to move between them.
During our visit, Mao repeatedly paced back and forth along the same side of her enclosure and appeared agitated, as though she wanted to be let back inside. Repetitive pacing like this can be a sign that an elephant is struggling with stress or frustration.
During our visit, Mao repeatedly waited outside the entrance to her indoor enclosure and appeared eager to be let back inside.
Mao was brought to Morioka to produce calves, and the zoo has continued trying to breed her, including through artificial insemination. But for all the effort put into creating another elephant, Mao herself continues to live in isolation, all by herself.
Female African elephants naturally live together in close family groups, surrounded by mothers, sisters, daughters, and other elephants they may know for life. Mao has none of that. And even if she has a calf one day, a mother and her baby are not a herd.
Elephants remember friends and family for decades. They comfort one another, protect one another, and grieve when they lose those they love. Mao has been denied the chance to experience that life for more than 20 years. She deserves more than a lifetime of loneliness.
