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 San Diego Zoo Safari Park currently holds 9 African elephants in captivity, including Umzula-Zuli a 5-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: Vusmusi
Vusmusi (also known as Moose and Musi) is a 19-year-old male African elephant. He was born in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to an elephant named Ndulamitsi, who was pregnant with him when she was imported to the US from Eswatini in 2003 despite global public outcry. Vusmusi resided at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo from 2015 to 2022, when he was transferred back to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, CA. Vusmusi is currently confined with 8 other elephants, who all suffer from their facility’s lack of sufficient space and from being unable to engage in their natural behaviors.
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.
