Died June 23, 2025 at the
Mendoza Ecoparque in Argentina

Tamy was a former circus elephant who had lived at the ecoparque for over 30 years. His past in the circus meant that most, if not all, of his training was dominance based, so he had a deep distrust of humans. Over the past three months, our team of caregivers had been working to build a relationship with him, and he was beginning to respond positively to the time they were spending with him. While his path to sanctuary would not have been a simple one, we were committed to making sure he had the chance at a life of autonomy that it provides. Unfortunately, his journey ended before getting the opportunity to experience the sanctuary life he so deserved.

Tamy was over 50 years old and had been dealing with some of the physical difficulties that come with age and extreme confinement. His body had been slowly facing more and more challenges, so though his passing is a shocking development, it’s also a sad representation of what captivity can do to an individual, especially over the course of decades. We don’t yet know the cause of death, but a necropsy will be performed soon that will hopefully provide more details.

Tamy will be remembered for the sweet disposition that would sometimes shine through the rougher exterior in moments he felt safe enough to let his guard down. While his passing speaks to the legacy of captivity, his life was more than his situation and surroundings. He was a sweet boy who was trying to trust in himself and those around him and start his emotional journey to freedom before taking the steps in his physical one. We will cherish the little glimpses he shared of the version of him that he hid deep inside decades ago, but that we all knew was the beautiful true him.

Died October 22, 2024 at the
Buenos Aries Ecoparque in Argentina

Kuky, the female African elephant who resided in what was once known as the Hindu Temple of Elephants in the Buenos Aires Ecoparque with Pupy and Mara, was believed to be in her 30s. According to records, she and Pupy arrived at the ecoparque together in 1993 from Kruger National Park in South Africa, and they lived at the zoo for most of their lives.

She and Pupy were deeply bonded, and the girls were both very curious about anything new in their environment. Though we’ve had limited interactions with the two, Kuky seemed to be a bit more playful and perhaps slightly more dominant than her companion.

The plans to relocate Kuky and Pupy were stalled for years as we navigated the unprecedented legal roadblocks to obtaining import permits. Shortly after we received the promising news that the permits were going to be issued and Kuky and Pupy would finally begin their journey to sanctuary, Kuky passed away at the Ecoparque, suffering fatal injuries after falling into the empty pond in her enclosure.

Died December 26, 2018 at the
age of 62 in Argentina

Merry was an ex-circus elephant in Argentina who was living at a small zoo. Her owner decided he wanted a better life for her, a life with other elephants, but he was cautious about sanctuary because it was a life he did not know. After discussions with Alejandra from Foundation Franz Weber, he agreed to send her to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil. Merry’s future rescue was not shared because of the delays with import permits, but we had hoped that the announcement about her future would soon be coming. We decided to still share Merry with all of you because we feel every elephant deserves to know the outpouring of love that comes from those who support the life of sanctuary. Neither Scott or Kat ever met Merry; we only knew her from photos and video. Alejandra was lucky to have met her in person and said that it was sad to see her alone, but that she was beautiful inside and out.

Merry was one of those elephants that is easy to instantly fall in love with. Her owner thought she was very well behaved, but you could see her ‘inner punk’ shining through in the videos we had watched of her. She looked like a total grandma, but among her most endearing qualities were her hairy ears, elbows, and knees. The amount of old lady hair she had was spectacular. She was a total cutie.

Her unexpected death has broken the heart of many and serves as a reminder that the captive elephant population in South America is an aged one. We fight to get them to sanctuary, but we do this not knowing how long they will revel in the joys it provides. But as we saw with Ramba, even a week brings about healing and embracing of life that forever changes them.

We don’t know the exact cause of death (she was in her 60s), but the owners suspect it was acute heart failure. All was normal in the morning but just a few hours later she fell over and within the time it took for the owner to run to her side, she had already passed away.

Born 1971 in Hamburg Zoo, Germany
Died June 4, 2018 at La Plata Zoo, Argentina

Decades of captivity left Pelusa visibly compromised, with severe foot issues and waning confidence, though glimpses of her old, spirited self remained. The zoo recognized her need for sanctuary, where she could find proper care and companionship with other elephants.

When we first met Pelusa, we worked closely with the zoo to improve her condition. Over two years, she declined rapidly. With delays in permits, we sent Suz, a trained caregiver, to care for her. Under Suz’s care, Pelusa gained weight, grew more active, and even explored parts of her enclosure she’d avoided for years. As we all started to gain confidence in her ability to make the trip, Pelusa quickly and drastically began to decline and within a couple of days was found lying down in the morning upon Suz’s arrival.

Despite emergency efforts, Pelusa’s body was just too weak to hold its own weight. Her blood values declined rapidly and she made no attempts to even sit up. It seemed our beautiful girl was done fighting after years of battling through all of the pain, her body was quickly shutting down and the pain and the rest of it was all fading away.

The zoo made the decision to euthanize, all of her humans said their goodbyes and she left the body and the world that had betrayed her for decades- supported and loved. Our commitment to elephants is beginning to end- always. Scott spent the night making sure her body was respected as a grave was dug and she was moved. The next morning Suz and her caregivers returned, a necropsy was done and her body was lovingly adorned and buried in the yard she only recently ventured into, below an archway.

Although it wasn’t the ending we were all hoping for, it was her journey and she had decided it was done. And as in life, we try to listen to what they communicate to us and honor their choices, this time broken-heartedly.

Read more about Pelusa’s story.