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Julie, Portugal’s last circus elephant, is thriving in her new sanctuary home.
Pangea Elephant Sanctuary, a 1,000-acre refuge in Portugal’s Alentejo region run by a UK-based charity of the same name, is Europe’s first large-scale, dedicated elephant sanctuary, and Julie is the first resident to arrive.
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Pangea has shared several photos and videos of Julie enjoying her new home on social media, including “rigorous” dust baths, splashing in water, digging, and eating apples, onions, and other fresh produce. According to the charity, Julie is also now “confident and comfortable” enough in her new home to lie down for mud bathing.
Pangea says Julie came to the sanctuary as part of a voluntary agreement with the Victor Hugo Cardinali circus, with which the elephant performed for more than 40 years. Julie retired in 2024 when Portugal’s ban on wild animals in circuses took full effect, but had nowhere to go until she arrived at Pangea Elephant Sanctuary in July.
At the time, Kate Moore, Pangea’s managing director, said, “Julie is the first elephant to call Pangea home, and there could be no more fitting first resident than Portugal’s last circus elephant. Many circuses and zoos across Europe are reaching the point where keeping elephants is no longer possible or appropriate, and they need somewhere to turn.”
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‘Lots of people used them for entertainment, but it’s not very good to do that’
Wenhaston Primary School in Suffolk officially “adopted “Julie after pupils followed her progress and learned about the history of circuses and elephants. Zoe, an eight-year-old student, told the BBC, “Lots of people used them for entertainment, but it’s not very good to do that because if you were an elephant and you were in a circus, and you kept being trapped, you would be upset and you would want to get out.”
Zoe said she felt “really good” about Julie’s arrival at Pangea and that she hoped more elephants would arrive soon. She added, “Lots of other elephants are endangered, and some are in circuses, and it’s not very nice.”
Pangea Elephant Sanctuary has the capacity for 30 animals, and Kariba, a wild-caught female elephant living at a Belgian zoo, is expected to join Julie this year. Belgium banned wild animals in circuses more than a decade ago, and earlier this year, Hungary announced its own ban, which is expected to come into force in 2027.
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