Elephants should be free.
In zoos across the US, elephants are being imprisoned and exploited for human gain. Help us expose the reality of elephant captivity in the US zoo system and bring it to an end.
Using the map below and the elephant index on this site, learn about the over 250 elephants who are currently held captive in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and how they are suffering.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Sedgwick County Zoo
- Topeka Zoo
The Sedgwick County Zoo currently holds 8 African elephants in captivity, including Titan a 13-year-old male. The key issues at this facility include an ongoing active captive breeding program, participating in the international elephant trade, and a lack of space for the elephants in their care.
Featured Elephant: Callee
Callee is an African elephant currently held at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, KS. He was born in captivity at the Pittsburgh Zoo in September 2000 to two elephants who were stolen from the wild and imported to the United States. Callee has spent his entire life housed in tiny, barren enclosures where he’s been forced to breed with mates he did not choose and subjected to invasive procedures to collect his semen. Any bonds he’s formed with other elephants have been severed every time he has been crated and trucked to other zoos.
Take Action Today
Free to Be Elephants is dedicated to raising awareness of the realities of elephant captivity, but our work doesn’t end there. Elephants are depending on us to correct the grave injustice of their imprisonment. Please take action today to help us secure freedom for elephants in the US.
