Elephant Held in Captivity for 35 Years Finds New Home

After spending 35 years living in a small enclosure, in Puerto Rican zoo, an African elephant named Mundi is finally free. 

According to Elephant Aid International, Mundi, a 41-year-old female, lost her herd when she was just two years old. The Zimbabwean government conducted a mass culling of elephants in 1984, leaving Mundi and 62 other calves orphans.

She was then purchased by millionaire Arthur Jones and shortly afterwards was sold to the Mayaguez Zoo in Puerto Rico. 

Mundi’s new home is the Elephant Refuge North America sanctuary (ERNA) in Attapulgus, Georgia. According to the sanctuary’s website, Mundi’s new home has 850 acres of hills, pastures, forests and lakes. She will share her new home with two other elephants, though the sanctuary can accommodate up to ten. 

ERNA first was under contract to take Mundi in 2018. The original contract was canceled when Puerto Rico’s government and infrastructure began to fail.

The zoo never reopened and came under investigation by the Department of Justice, which eventually ordered its closure in February. 

According to Newsweek, Mundi, who weighs 8000 pounds, traveled to her new home via a special Boeing 747 from Puerto Rico to Florida, followed by a truck to the sanctuary in Georgia.  

On Saturday, the sanctuary posted a video to Facebook of her getting to know one of the other elephants. “It's like kids in a playground,” the post read.

Though the ERNA warns that rescued pachyderms can sometimes lack “elephant social skills,” Mundi appears to be already settling in just fine.