Her flight is paid for, now we need to look to her future. There are many reasons why returning elephants back to the wild is not feasible:
- Due to decades of insufficient space, socialization, stimulation and care, most captive elephants have developed chronic physical, psychological and emotional ailments, some which require a lifetime of medical care.
- Wild elephant survival is dependent on protection of strong family bonds, relationships that have been formed over many years and ancient knowledge that has been passed along from generation to generation.
- We will not save the species through reintroducing captive elephants; we must preserve wild spaces and protect wild populations if we want to share the world with elephants in the future.
