THE world’s unhappiest elephant who was cruelly captured as a baby to perform circus tricks 40 years ago has finally been set free.
Charlie was caught in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park in 1984 and became sad when he watched his own calf and friends die in a South African zoo.
Charlie at the National Zoological Garden of South Africa where he was held captiveCredit: EMS Foundation
Charlie is now held at the Shambala Private ReserveCredit: Four Paws
After a stint performing at Boswell Wilkie Circus, he was transferred to the national zoo in the early noughties as their only confined elephant.
Here he was forced to watch his own calf and four friends die which an animal rights organisation claim distressed him.
South Africa’s EMS Foundation negotiated for years to free the animal, who is now in safe hands at the Shambala Private Reserve.
The elephant’s new home is a 10,000-hectare reserve is a far cry away from his zoo live four hours away in Pretoria.
“Soon he will meet up and integrate into the existing elephant community on Shambala.”
Charlie, 42, is said to have shown signs of distress back in 2019 with signs commonly associated with animals that are held in captivity.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute, who run the zoo, claims his circus past explains his distressed behaviour but the EMS say this is “inaccurate”.
“World-renowned experts have been appointed and are on standby to relocate Charlie from the National Zoo to the reserve in Limpopo.
“A state-of-the-art release and rehabilitation unit has been designed which caters for Charlie’s every need and will provide for a successful slow release into a natural environment.”
Charlie with elephants Lammie, Ramadiba and Mopane at Johannesburg ZooCredit: EMS Foundation
Experts think he will cope in the Shambala reserve as he lived freely for two yearsCredit: YouTube/SABC News