Signatures Needed To Help Fuko, A Lonely Elephant, Who Has Been In Confinement At A Zoo In Japan For 10 Years!

Fuko is an elephant that has been alone and in confinement for 10 years after losing her companion Dumbo in 2008. For 25 years, Fuko and Dumbo spent every waking moment together in the same enclosure. Even though they should have never been imprisoned, they at least had each other.

Now Fuko is forced to spend most of her days trapped alone in a tiny, featureless concrete cell at Naganoshi Chausuyama Zoo in Japan. To cope with her loneliness, she tries to interact with zoo visitors by following them and reaching out to them with her trunk. It’s truly heart breaking.

Alone and bored, Fuko has found another disturbing way to cope. Hundreds of times a day, Fuko paces in a routine repetitive pattern, over and over again, in her tiny indoor enclosure as she touches her trunk to the bars of her cell. All of this behavior, has been captured on video.

Fuko’s repetitive pacing is an abnormal stereotypical behavior that is often seen in captive wild animals that are kept in substandard enclosures. They are often associated with boredom, anxiety, frustration and depression and they mean that Fuko’s biological, behavioral and social needs are not being met.

Solitary confinement is an undeserved punishment for any animal, let alone one that is naturally highly intelligent and social. Elephants live up to 60-70 years and are exceptionally social animals who have families and friends.

There is hope though, Fuko’s plight has finally come to light! She still has a chance at a better life that includes experiencing soft soil on her feet, companionship, and enrichment to occupy her intelligent mind. The Elephants in Japan campaign is working with top elephant experts and organizations to help save Fuko and other solitary elephants in Japan.

The government and other relevant authorities in Japan need to develop legislation that sets higher standards of captive animal housing and care, including prohibiting the keeping of  elephants in isolation.

Please sign this Care2 petition to put pressure on the Japanese government to give Fuko and their other elephants a better life! SIGN HERE!