Happy? Not at the Bronx Zoo where elephants endure unimaginable suffering and isolation.
Photo: Nonhuman Rights Project
BRONX, N.Y. (Jan. 7, 2025) — In Defense of Animals has released its 20th annual list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America, spotlighting how zoos are aging elephants into early graves and denying them timely retirement. Bronx Zoo has been ranked #2 for deeply depriving its elephants for half a century. Actors Mayim Bialikand James Roday Rodriguez are among the celebrities calling for the release of elephants from cruel confinement to true sanctuaries.
#2 Worst Zoo for Elephants in North America: Bronx Zoo, N.Y.
“Happy’s actions speak volumes: she can no longer mentally cope with her environment,” said Courtney Scott, Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals. “Both Happy and Patty are in desperate need of a stimulating, natural environment with ample space to roam — somewhere they can experience the social and cognitive enrichment they have been denied for so long. It’s not too late for the zoo to make the compassionate choice. Over 15,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have urged the Bronx Zoo to send Happy and Patty to a true sanctuary where they can finally find the peace, space, and sense of belonging they deserve. After more than half a century of captivity, there is still time for the Bronx Zoo elephants to be truly happy.”
In the wild, elephants thrive into their 60s, raising calves well into their 50s and roaming up to 30 miles daily. In zoos like Bronx Zoo, where enclosures are thousands of times smaller than their natural range, elephants endure chronic stress, debilitating arthritis, foot disease, and brain damage, dying decades prematurely.
According to Bob Jacobs, Professor of Neuroscience at Colorado College, “It’s likely that zoos contribute to premature aging of elephants through the cumulative effects of prolonged stress (with its neural consequences) and acceleration of health issues like foot and digestive problems.”
Nearly 20 years ago, the Bronx Zoo publicly committed to shutting down its elephant exhibit when another death occurred, declaring it “inhumane” for an elephant to live in isolation. Yet despite Maxine’s death in 2018, Asian elephants Happy and Patty remain at the zoo, enduring years of isolation, breaching the Association of Zoos & Aquariums standard of care, which requires elephants live in social groups of at least three, while the zoo continues to deny them the sanctuary retirement they deserve.
This year marks the 11th time the Bronx Zoo has appeared on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list, highlighting its failure to honor its promise. Instead, these two highly social senior elephants are forced to “age out” in solitude, confined to separate barren enclosures, suffering through New York’s freezing winters.
Happy and Patty have been held captive for half a century, and their lives have been deeply deprived. Research shows that impoverished environments like these have dire detrimental consequences. Elephants possess highly complex cognitive capacities and are particularly vulnerable to the chronic stress of captivity, which can cause irreversible neural damage.
In one tragic example, 22 years ago, Patty fatally attacked Happy’s companion, Grumpy, during a period of heightened stress. This incident was likely triggered by the zoo’s extreme lack of space — Patty has had access to little more than one acre of land for the last 50 years, a far cry from her wild habitat where she would naturally roam up to 30 miles a day.
Patty has been forced to spend half a century with nowhere to roam. Photo: Nonhuman Rights Project
Following Grumpy’s death, the zoo erected barriers to separate the elephants, further reducing their claustrophobic space. Initially, the zoo claimed the barriers were to protect Happy, but later blamed her for not getting along with other elephants.
Deprived of natural social bonds crucial to elephant well-being for the past 17 years, Happy has now started to retreat from the world. Over the summer, she was not seen for two months, raising serious concerns about her health. While the zoo insists she is “fine” and prefers to be indoors, Happy was recently spotted lying down outside her barn, exposing her severely damaged feet — a heartbreaking sign of her suffering. What the public cannot see is the tiny elephant cage Happy returns to each day, hidden from view.
This year’s 10 Worst Zoos list is dedicated to Tonka. After 43 years confined at Zoo Knoxville, he was finally slated for sanctuary retirement. Tragically, Tonka was euthanized just weeks before transfer due to chronic pain.
“Zoos drain the life out of elephants, then deny them a comfortable retirement,” said Marilyn Kroplick, M.D., President of In Defense of Animals. “Tonka’s premature death and missed freedom is a grim warning for Bronx Zoo, and for Happy and Patty. It’s time for zoos to stop aging out elephants in misery and instead start moving out older animals to real sanctuaries where they can finally enjoy some peace and freedom before they die.”
2024 List of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants:
- Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Calif.
- Bronx Zoo, N.Y.
- Edmonton Valley Zoo, Canada
- Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, Texas
- Two Tails Ranch, Williston, Fla.
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, Kan.
- Little Rock Zoo, Ark.
- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Ohio
- Phoenix Zoo, Ariz.
Path to Progress Award: Oakland Zoo, Calif.
Members of the public are urged to share the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list and demand urgent sanctuary retirement for Happy and Patty: https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants/latest-news/free-elephants-happy-patty-bronx-zoo
