Former Circus Elephant Finds Peace at PAWS: Appreciating Gypsy
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM

PAWS Performing Animal Welfare Society
September 2018

Asian elephant Gypsy is emblematic of all that is wrong with using elephants in entertainment.

Elephant Gypsy
Gypsy

September 22 marks Elephant Appreciation Day – a time to consider the importance of these iconic animals and how we can ensure their survival. It is also a day to contemplate the abuses elephants suffer in captivity.

Asian elephant Gypsy is emblematic of all that is wrong with using elephants in entertainment.

Born in the wild around 1967, Gypsy lived in a rich and dynamic natural world, cared for by a loving, protective family. But things soon changed. Profiteers violently kidnapped the young calf and sold her into a life of captivity and the horrors of the circus.

Gypsy endured almost 40 years of near constant chaining, performing at the point of a bullhook, and continuous travel. She gave birth to a calf who was torn away from her, only to die young. Traded between circuses at least a half-dozen times, Gypsy never knew a long-time home.

Gypsy came to PAWS in April 2007, along with Nicholas – the last elephants to leave the Hawthorn Corporation that had rented elephants to circuses. [See Nicholas and Gypsy: 10 Years at PAWS!]

The blaring circus music, endless travel, bullhooks and leg irons are now just a bad memory.

Elephant Gypsy
Gypsy lunching in the trees...

Today, Gypsy spends quiet days in a natural habitat filled with tasty grass, a pond for swimming, and shady oak trees.

Won’t you show your love for Gypsy by making a donation today?

It costs about $70,000 a year to care for Gypsy. She is one of eight elephants at PAWS. Your support gives Gypsy and all the elephants a more natural life and a chance to heal. Go HERE to donate: PAWS Performing Animal Welfare Society


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