How modern zoos contribute to African elephant conservation while meeting the complex welfare needs of this intelligent species.
African elephants in zoos face significant welfare challenges due to their exceptional intelligence, social complexity, and need for extensive movement. Best-practice facilities provide multi-acre habitats, stable social groups of related females, protected contact training to allow veterinary care without force, and meaningful environmental complexity. The welfare-conservation tradeoff requires honest assessment: zoos must ensure their elephants have lives worth living while contributing meaningfully to species survival.