Belgian zoo elephant to be first resident in new Portugal sanctuary

An elephant from a zoo in Belgium will be the first to arrive at the sanctuary being created on land located in the municipalities of Vila Viçosa and Alandroal, Évora district.

The sanctuary for elephants living in zoos and circuses, developed by the non-profit organization Pangea, was presented in Vila Viçosa.

“We expect the first elephant to arrive in early 2026 and its name is Kariba. It is an elephant that is living in a zoo in Belgium,” revealed Pangea's Director-General, Kate Moore, in statements to journalists.

The official indicated that Kariba “came from Zimbabwe” to Europe, where she lived “the last 40 years in captivity” in various zoos, but will “end up living out her final years” in the future sanctuary.

Regarding the planned investment in the project, Kate Moore said that, over approximately 10 years, Pangea expects to “invest 15 million euros”.

Also speaking to journalists, Pangea's principal technical consultant, Miguel Repas, emphasized that the sanctuary will provide the animals with “tranquillity, peace and freedom”, therefore, it will not be a space open to the public.

However, he stressed that initiatives open to the public are planned, such as programs for schools and the local community, and a so-called “discovery center” will be created, offering experiences and interactions with the elephants.

“We will have protocols with the scientific community,” within which “studies and scientific projects will be carried out, providing fundamental information for the development of knowledge about elephant welfare,” he said.

Remembering that the sanctuary's future guests "have never had contact with nature," Miguel Repas stressed that the elephants will "relearn to use nature and socialize" with other animals of the species.

According to the biologist, the sanctuary will have stables to house the elephants, a central support services area, and fences prepared to withstand a load of 60 tons.

Miguel Repas also said that 10 direct jobs and between 30 and 50 indirect jobs will be created.

Local benefits

The mayor of Alandroal, João Grilo, highlighted the benefits that the project brings to this territory from the point of view of economic development and conservation, and revealed that an interpretive center for the sanctuary will be created in the Alentejo village.

This space "will bridge the gap between the sanctuary and visitors and facilitate communication with young people and educational communities," he emphasized.

The mayor of Vila Viçosa, Inácio Esperança, emphasized that the lands to be occupied by the sanctuary were unused and will now be environmentally restored and put to use.

“And we will have the possibility of having study tourism, training tourism, groups of students, researchers, which is everything we want,” he added.

With an area of 402 hectares, this will be the first large sanctuary in Europe for elephants that lived in captivity, with ca apacity for up to 30 animals, with the arrival of the first animals scheduled for the beginning of 2026.

Read more here...