Charlie’s new home is a 10,000-acre nature reserve.
South Africa’s last zoo-raised elephant has been released back into the wild after 40 years in captivity, says the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC.
Charliewas captured at the age of two in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and was trained to perform tricks in a circus.
In the early 2000s, Charlie was transferred to the country’s national zoo. In recent years, animal welfare organizations have called for the elephant’s release, out of concern for its health.
Charlie was said to have witnessed the deaths of three other elephants and his own calf nearby.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute, which runs the zoo, denied that Norsu had any signs of distress.
Charlie’s new home is a 10,000-acre nature reserve.