Shankar, the only African elephant at Delhi Zoo in India, has died at the young age of 29. He had lived alone at the zoo for over twenty years.
Shankar was taken from the wild in Zimbabwe as a baby and brought to India in 1998. At first, he lived with a female elephant named Vambai, but she died in 2001. Since then, Shankar had no elephant company.
Animal rights activist Nikita Dhawan, founder of Youth For Animals, had been fighting for years to get Shankar moved to a better place. She told The Animal Reader in 2022 that keeping Shankar alone was a clear violation of India’s zoo rules.
Since 2009, the Central Zoo Authority of India has banned keeping elephants alone for more than six months.
Her team had even arranged for Shankar’s possible relocation to an elephant sanctuary in Africa, with support from animal charity The Aspinall Foundation. Nearly 200,000 people signed a petition asking for his release.
Shankar died at a young age
On Wednesday evening, Shankar collapsed in his enclosure and died. Zoo officials said he had shown mild signs of illness the day before. A post-mortem is underway to find out the exact cause of death.
African elephants in the wild can live up to 60 or even 70 years, but Shankar died at just 29 years old. His early death raises more concerns about the conditions he lived in at Delhi Zoo.
In the wild, elephants walk long distances, live in complex social groups, and make their own choices about food, rest, and movement.
In contrast, zoo environments limit space, natural behaviors, and social interaction, all key factors that affect an elephant’s physical and mental health.
Delhi Zoo lost its zoo membership
Shankar’s death has renewed anger over how the zoo handled his case.
Last year, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) suspended the Delhi Zoo’s membership because of concerns over the treatment of the elephant.
During periods of musth, a time of hormonal change in male elephants, Shankar was often restrained with chains. Despite years of public pressure, legal action, and expert support, Shankar spent his final years alone in captivity.
Youth for Animals hopes that there will now be pressure on Indian authorities to release Rambo, a 28-year-old male African elephant kept in isolation at the Mysore Zoo.
“Shankar’s passing must not be in vain – it should serve as a wake-up call to free other elephants still trapped in solitary confinement,” Youth for Animals said. “In Shankar’s memory, we hope to turn this grief into renewed action and begin efforts to secure freedom and sanctuary for Rambo and others like him.”
