Europe's First Large-Scale Elephant Sanctuary Opens in Portugal

Europe's first large-scale elephant sanctuary is set to open in Portugal with the arrival of its first two residents next month. Julie, Portugal's last circus elephant, will be moved from the Cardinali circus to the Pangea sanctuary in the Alentejo region, 200km east of Lisbon near the Spanish border.

She will join Kariba, a female African elephant in her 40s that is being relocated from a zoo in Belgium where she has lived alone. The sanctuary occupies a former cattle ranch and will initially cover 28 hectares, with plans to expand across the full 405 hectares pending further fundraising.

It will not be open to the public and will prioritize giving the elephants as natural an environment as possible.

Julie will live in an expansive natural habitat where they can roam freely, bathe and socialise in compatible groups," a Pangea spokesperson said. " The animals will contribute to nature restoration on the site of the degraded cattle ranch. The region was once home to straight-tusked elephants that lived on the Iberian peninsula around 40,000 years ago.

There are about 600 elephants still held in captivity across Europe. Of those, 36 live in solitary confinement in zoos and around 40 are still required to perform in circuses. Many of the elephants, including Julie and Kariba, were captured in the wild in the 1980s and are now reaching the end of their lives.

Captive elephants typically live in smaller-than-natural herds with drastically reduced roaming space compared with wild elephants that walk tens of kilometres each day. Studies have shown reduced life expectancy and higher infant mortality rates among captive elephants.

One study found that African female elephants lived an average of 17 years in zoos compared with 56 years in the wild when human-caused deaths were excluded. Another study reported a first-year mortality rate of about 30% for captive-born Asian elephants in North America and the EU, compared with 10-15% for wild African elephants.

The use of wild animals in circuses is banned in most EU countries, though Germany maintains regional restrictions without a national ban. In Portugal a ban on wild animals in circuses came into full effect in 2025. Many circuses have struggled to retire large animals because of a lack of available sanctuary space, and governments have been limited in their ability to confiscate animals from circuses when no relocation options exist.

The sanctuary has taken 10 years to develop. When fully expanded it could support 20 to 30 elephants living naturally by roaming, grazing and wallowing in lakes, provided stocking density is managed correctly to strengthen the ecosystem.