Europe’s First Large-Scale Elephant Sanctuary Opens to Rehome Captive Elephants

The 28-hectare Pangea sanctuary in Alentejo, Portugal, will receive its first residents next month: Julie, the country’s last circus elephant, and Kariba, a solitary African female from a Belgian zoo. The site will remain closed to visitors.

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Most EU states have banned wild animals in circuses, with Portugal’s prohibition taking effect in 2025. Europe still houses roughly 600 captive elephants, including 36 solitary zoo residents and about 40 performing in circuses, but few sanctuary options exist.

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The project is led by animal charity Pangea, whose managing director Kate Moore oversees relocation. Julie belongs to the Cardinali circus; Kariba comes from a Belgian zoo.

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Initially covering 28 ha within a 405-ha former cattle ranch, the sanctuary plans to expand across the full property, eventually supporting 20–30 elephants in natural roaming, grazing and lake-based wallowing while aiding land restoration.

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Studies cited by Pangea show captive African females average 17 years versus 56 years in the wild (excluding human deaths). Captive-born Asian calves face a 30 % first-year mortality, compared with 10-15 % in wild African populations.

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The sanctuary demonstrates how large-scale rewilding can meet complex elephant needs while restoring degraded ecosystems. Its success may guide EU policy on post-ban animal relocation and provide a template for future sanctuary development.

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Pangea’s leadership stresses that autonomy and expert care are essential for elephants’ complex needs and that appropriate stocking density can boost biodiversity. Portuguese officials support the rehoming under the 2025 circus ban but note a broader sanctuary shortage.

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Animal-rights groups warn that the scarcity of sanctuary capacity hampers full implementation of circus bans, leaving many circuses unable to relinquish large animals and creating a policy-implementation gap.

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• “Kariba and Julie will live in an expansive natural habitat where they can roam freely, bathe and socialise in compatible groups,” — Kate Moore, Managing Director, Pangea

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• “That autonomy is really critical but they will also have expert care as well. Elephants are one of the most sentient and intelligent animals on earth and so they have very complex needs.” — Kate Moore, Managing Director, Pangea

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• “It’s really important that it’s a diverse environment for them,” — Kate Moore, Managing Director, Pangea

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• “We’ve put a lot of effort into helping the nature recover on what was a degraded cattle ranch, following basic rewilding principles. We know elephants can normally strengthen the ecosystems if we get the stocking density of the elephants right. It gives us this really interesting opportunity to see how the elephants are responding to the land and vice versa.” — Kate Moore, Managing Director, Pangea

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Pangea aims to complete fundraising for the full 405-ha expansion by 2027, after which additional captive elephants may be relocated. Ongoing monitoring will track animal health and ecosystem outcomes.

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