While a herd of elephant statues have been seen in Boston recently, there's only one actual, living elephant in the state of Massachusetts. And animal advocates say it's time for her to go somewhere better.
Her name is Emily, she's 61 years old, and she lives at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford.
The national advocacy group In Defense of Animals says it has gotten more than 24,000 signatures on a petition calling for the city of New Bedford, which owns the zoo, to allow Emily to live out her remaining years at an elephant sanctuary. The zoo's leadership, however, says the Asian elephant would be best served by staying with her devoted caretakers in New Bedford.
Emily was captured in the wild and brought to the Buttonwood Park Zoo in 1968 when she was just a few years old. She has lived her entire life there, with the exception of three years when she was moved to a zoo in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Advocates say she was attacked by another elephant in Baton Rouge and mistreated as she was trained to do tricks like standing on one leg. Emily returned to New Bedford about 40 years ago.
The Buttonwood Park Zoo's only other elephant, Ruth, died in 2024. Now, local activists say the Buttonwood Park Zoo isn't a suitable home for the lone elephant.
"It's too cold a climate and it's too small a space," said Joyce Rowley, who founded a group called the Friends of Ruth and Emily. "Elephants in the wild walk 20 miles a day. To them, that's a cakewalk. But they don't do it just to look for food. They do it because they're so intelligent. It stimulates so much. They like to explore. They like to look for different plants, travel in herds. They're not solitary animals."
And now that Ruth has died, Emily's life has become solitary, activists say.
"We feel she deserves a chance to have some of her life in a place where she can actually live like a real elephant," said Courtney Scott of the group In Defense of Animals. "You know, where she can actually roam and forage and maybe meet new friends."
Emily's relationship with the zoo's other elephant, Ruth, had actually been fraught. Activists say she attacked Ruth when they first met.
"When Ruth was introduced, Emily did not take kindly to that," said Sally Owen of the group Massachusetts for Elephants. "And it was very difficult for Ruth. But it was understandable behavior on Emily's part because of the treatment that she'd experienced. The fact that they're captive … all their natural behaviors they're deprived of when they're in captivity. And the zoo is tiny and it's in a very cold climate in the wintertime. So all of these things have impacted Emily."
The Buttonwood Zoo cites Emily's difficult past interactions with other elephants as a reason she should stay where she is
"We understand and appreciate the concern from members of our community about Emily currently being housed alone," said Shara Rapoza, director of Zoological Services for the Buttonwood Park Zoo, in a written statement. "We recognize that elephants are highly social animals and that, generally, they thrive in social groups. However, Emily has demonstrated throughout her life a strong preference for the companionship of her human care team. Her care must be guided not only by what is generally true for elephants, but by what is demonstrably best for Emily as an individual."
The Buttonwood Park Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Rapoza said, and "adheres to rigorous standards for animal care and welfare."
"We work closely with AZA's Asian Elephant Taxon Advisory Group, our veterinary and elephant care teams, and outside consultants to continually evaluate Emily's health, behavior, and well-being," Rapoza said in the statement. "The average life expectancy of an Asian elephant in professional care is approximately 47 years, making Emily's longevity a testament to the care she has received throughout her life."
Activists dispute the zoo's assertion that Emily prefers her human caretakers to the company of other elephants.
"The idea that Emily only likes her keepers has never really been tested in the context of a sanctuary," said Rowley, who sued Buttonwood Park Zoo over its elephants in 2017 and 2021 but both cases were thrown out. "Emily has no choice right now but to be dependent on her caretaker … She relies on them for everything: food, freedom, movement, water, all of it. And it's not fair to her to say that she's too bonded with them to ever see anything else. Time and time again, elephants brought to the sanctuaries do just that. They become themselves. And that's what I would like for Emily."
"Emily has never been given the opportunity to form relationships with other elephants on her own terms," Owen said. "And it may sound silly, but this is what elephants do … She has never had the opportunity to actually select her companions."
The activists noted the recent announcement that the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence has decided to send its three elephants to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.
Since the Buttonwood Park Zoo is owned by the city of New Bedford, Emily's fate ultimately comes down to city officials. City Councilor Joseph Lopes, whose ward includes the zoo, defended them this week.
"The city of New Bedford and the team at the Buttonwood Park Zoo do an amazing job of taking care of the animals that we have," Lopes said. "We're lucky to have the staff and the team that we have at the Buttonwood Park Zoo as the caretakers of the animals, and they treat them like their own family members."
In her written statement, Rapoza noted that she's known Emily for 30 years.
"And I remain deeply committed to doing what is best for her," Rapoza said. "Every decision we make is centered on her welfare, her individual needs, and her quality of life."
The Buttonwood Park Zoo announced a decade ago that it planned to discontinue its elephant program.
"We remain committed to providing Emily with the highest quality care for as long as it is in her best interest to do so," Rapoza said. "Emily will be the last elephant to call Buttonwood Park Zoo home."
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