After more than four decades at the Sorocaba Zoo in São Paulo State, Brazil, male Asian elephant Sandro may finally be on his way to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil.

In this episode, we look back at Sandro’s long and somewhat uncertain history — from being taken from Asia as a young elephant and trained for circus life in the Netherlands, to performing in Brazilian circuses and eventually arriving at Sorocaba Zoo in 1982.

We talk about the years-long legal battle over Sandro’s future and why elephant relocations can involve so much work behind the scenes that simply cannot be shared while it is happening. We also look at some of the arguments used against moving elephants to sanctuary — and why those same concerns rarely seem to arise when elephants are transferred between zoos.

With Sandro’s relocation now moving forward, we talk about the preparations and challenges involved — from working within the limitations of his enclosure while ensuring everyone’s safety, to adapting his transport crate to keep him as comfortable as possible while travelling through Central Brazil during the hottest time of year.

And what will Sandro himself make of all these preparations? As always, the elephant ultimately has quite a lot to say about how things go.

If all goes according to plan, this charming, cheeky and rather “spicy” elephant will become Elephant Sanctuary Brazil’s first male Asian elephant — and finally have the opportunity to discover a very different way of life.

LINKS:

❤️ Help bring Sandro home. Donate here. Thank you!

❤️ Brazilian website: Sandro no santuario já.

The official episode transcript can be found here.

Email: We’d love to hear from you podcast@globalelephants.org

Who we are: Global Sanctuary for Elephants exists to create vast, safe spaces for captive elephants, where they are able to heal physically and emotionally. There are elephants around the world in need of sanctuary, but too few places exist to be able to care for even a fraction of the elephants. International support is necessary to build sanctuaries for elephants in need of rescue and rehabilitation. Our pilot project is Elephant Sanctuary Brazil where former zoo and circus elephants from across South America live their best lives.

Website: https://globalelephants.org/

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