ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Stratton is a travel writer, environmental journalist, photographer and radio broadcaster for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service. His work has taken him to more than 140 countries. Visit markstrattontravels.com
GANDHI, A 52-YEAR-OLD ASIAN elephant, is picking at windfall apples when an enclosure. Te's Woexty, the farm cat. Ghandi's ears flare and she swivels, chasing the fleeing feline towards her heated barn. She plunges indoors and doesn't reappear, likely preferring the warmth to the chill of an autumn day in southern France.
Ghandi was the first elephant to take up residence here at Elephant Haven, a sanctuary co-founded by ex-zookeeper Sofie Goetghebeur and Tony Verlust in 2016. It's the largest elephant sanctuary in western Europe, comprising 29ha of beautiful mixed woodland and ponds. Ghandi arrived here in October 2021 from a cash-strapped Brittany Zoo. She had been spirited away from her mother, likely in Thailand, when a baby, in 1973, and has spent her entire life in captivity. “Before being rescued, Gandhi stood around with little energy. Now look at her. She has new life,” says Goetghebeur.
ELEPHANT HAVEN REPRESENTS a glittering template of what life in captivity could look like for elephants at a time when we are realising that these intelligent and sentient creatures do not belong in zoos and circuses. Many European countries - France being the latest - have banned live animal performances, while zoos from Mendoza to Buenos Aires are releasing individual elephants to specialised sanctuaries. Rumours even circulated in summer 2021 that the UK, which holds 51 elephants, would ban zoo captivity from 2022, though no legislation has been forthcoming yet.
This story is from the April 2022 edition of BBC Wildlife.
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This story is from the April 2022 edition of BBC Wildlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
