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
- Fresno Chaffee Zoo
- Los Angeles Zoo
- Oakland Zoo
- San Diego Zoo
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park
The Los Angeles Zoo currently holds 2 Asian elephants in captivity: Billy and Tina. 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: Tina
Tina is a female Asian elephant who has spent almost the entirety of her life held captive by zoos and circuses in the United States–a world away from the elephant family she was taken from when she was less than a year old. Currently held alone at the Los Angeles Zoo, separated from the other elephant confined there, Tina is suffering greatly from lack of social companions and from being forced to live in a small and barren environment that cannot meet her physical and psychological needs.
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.
