Let’s be honest, “Alentejo” and “elephants” aren’t exactly two words you’d expect to hear together. But a remarkable programme already underway could change that forever. A bold project is aiming to bring several elephants to a countryside haven, a thousand-acre estate near Alandroal, Évora district.
This project is not a crazy idea cooked up by an extravagant billionaire like Pablo Escobar’s Hippos in Colombia – far from it. This is the work of the Pangea Trust, a UK-registered charity set up in 2017 and established as a non-profit in Portugal in 2022. Their mission? To create Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary, offering a forever home to elephants retired from circuses and zoos around the old continent.
Even though most EU countries have banned the use of elephants in circuses and zoos, Pangea estimates that over 600 elephants are still living in captivity in Europe. This new sanctuary will provide a suitable relocation option for owners who no longer have the capacity or interest in keeping the large animals, which can live well into their 70s. So far, 15 elephants have been identified as priority candidates for relocation.
With the location decided and land secured, the construction of the infrastructure is now underway. Pangea is also recruiting in areas such as fundraising, project management and husbandry, and working to finalise agreements, secure more funding, and navigate the necessary red tape to, hopefully, welcome the first elephants to Alandroal before the end of the year.
It’s only natural that the arrival of the first elephants will spark public curiosity and interest. However, this project is not about creating a tourist attraction. The sanctuary is intentionally located in a remote area, with its core mission focused on providing a safe, ecologically sustainable environment that supports elephants for the long term. To stay informed about Pangea’s progress and any future opportunities for public engagement, the best way is to follow their social media pages and subscribe to their newsletter.
For the success of this venture, Pangea counts on the help of important partners, including a number of organisations and skilled professionals focused on preserving, protecting and rescuing the lives of wild animals kept in captivity. In Portugal, one key partner is Rewilding Portugal. This non-profit organisation has been doing incredible work in regenerating ecosystems by encouraging the return of natural processes like grazing, seed dispersal and predator-prey dynamics. Altogether, this alliance will ensure that the large sanctuary is a thriving, balanced ecosystem where rescued elephants can live alongside native wildlife and flora.
How to help this project?
As a charity, Pangea depends heavily on donations, which can be made directly through its website. Another powerful way to support the project is by spreading the word, so Pangea encourages everyone to follow, like, and share their page across social media to help raise awareness and reach new potential donors.
Did you know?
Elephants are the largest land animals on our planet. Unmistakably recognisable for their enormous size and trunks, most people are aware that Indian and African elephants are separate species. However, the Asian forest elephant, which was once thought to be a subspecies of the African elephant, is now recognised as a distinct species too. Genetic research showed that the two diverged 2–5 million years ago and are, genetically, as different as lions are from tigers. This recent distinction in 2021, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), may also suggest that the Asian elephant, currently with several subspecies, may soon be split into different species too, particularly the subspecies isolated on islands such as Sri Lanka, Sumatra or Borneo.
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Elephant species
| 1. | 2. | 3. | |
Name | African savanna/ bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) | Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) | African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) |
Habitat | Open lands in Central & Southern Africa | India & Southeast Asia | Dense forests of Central & Western Africa |
Height | 3.2 metres | 2.8 metres | 2.5 metres |
Weight | 5–10 tons | 3–5 tons | 3–6 tons |
Tusks | White, curved | White and straight | Pinkish and straight |
Ears | Big “Africa” shaped | Small | Big and round |
Longevity | 60–70 years | 50–60 years | 60–70 years |
Fun fact
Elephants love water and are surprisingly strong swimmers! You might wonder how such a heavy animal doesn’t just sink. The answer lies mainly in their lungs – large and capable of holding a lot of air, which helps keep them buoyant. Also, like big ships, elephants displace enough water to stay afloat. The trunks can be used as in-built snorkels while swimming, allowing them to breathe as they move through deeper water.
Joke
Why did the elephant come to the pool naked? They said it was trunks only!
Other elephants in Portugal
Lisbon Zoo
During the 1970s and 1980s, Lisbon Zoo had an elephant enclosure that featured a special elephant: a male African elephant who would perform a simple trick enough to thrill visitors of all ages, including a very young me. For a small amount of the old escudos currency, you could buy a few peanuts and feed them to this gentle giant who, in return, would ring a bell placed in the enclosure. This little performance was very popular amongst zoo visitors and went on for years. In the end, zookeepers became concerned that the insatiable pachyderm was too focused on the treats and paid no attention to the females.
Mentalities were also changing and the zoo decided that visitors should observe the animal’s natural behaviour instead of watching him perform tricks and put an end to it. Soon after, the elephant started mating and fathered several baby elephants.
King Manuel I’s elephant fight
D. Manuel I had a vast collection of exotic birds, lions, apes and elephants, which arrived mainly as gifts from expeditions to Africa and Asia. In 1515, King Manuel I received an Indian rhinoceros as a gift from the governor of the Portuguese Indies. The arrival of the rhino sparked great curiosity, as very few had seen such a beast before. D. Manuel, who had read from ancient Roman texts that elephants and rhinos were deadly rivals, decided to arrange a fight to see which animal would win. Two weeks later, where Praça do Comércio stands today, the stage was set. The king and queen, along with many important guests and a large number of locals, gathered in great anticipation. The elephant and rhino were put face to face but no battle took place. The elephant, described as a young and nervous animal, panicked and fled the arena, destroying the stages and launching chaos through the streets of Lisbon’s downtown.
Elephant fossils
Going much further back in time to the last known ice age, the Pleistocene epoch, the now extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) roamed freely across the Iberian Peninsula and played an essential role in the local ecosystem.
Fossilised tracks and remains of these elephants have been found in various locations, including the Tagus Valley and also in the Alentejo region.
