AZA Elephant Conservation

High Standards and Excellent Care

AZA-accredited zoos create and maintain management plans to ensure excellent care for every single elephant. The living conditions for elephants meet or exceed AZA's requirements for comfortable elephant housing.

©Nashville Zoo

AZA-accredited zoos provide enrichment programs that stimulate elephants mentally and physically. The complexity and enrichment associated with elephants' zoo homes are important quality-of-life factors, in addition to provisions such as proper nutrition and veterinary care.

AZA-accredited zoos have highly trained animal experts working with the elephants. Elephant care staff at AZA-accredited institutions totals 382 FTEs, meaning that there is well more than one zookeeper for every elephant in our care. Each FTE represents an average of 11.3 years of experience working with elephants, which taken together represents over 3,880 years of current elephant expertise. Often these zookeepers form strong bonds with the elephants as they dedicate their lives to working with and caring for these animals.

In North America, only AZA accredited zoos are required to meet or exceed tough elephant care standards, which include:

On-site professional veterinary care based upon the latest research and techniques;
Ample and nutritious diets;
Daily activities for physical and mental stimulation;
Expert husbandry, and;
Comfortable homes.

Meeting Rigorous Standards

©Pittsburgh Zoo

AZA-accredited zoos provide care that meets or exceeds AZA's Standards for Elephant Management and Care (in PDF), developed over several years in cooperation with animal welfare advocates, field researchers and zoo elephant experts.

Enforced by accreditation, AZA standards are more rigorous than those of the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or state regulatory agencies. No other U.S. elephant ranches enforce such rigorous elephant welfare requirements. AZA continuously reviews and updates its standards to incorporate best management practices supported by new research.

AZA Requires Training for Caretakers

Elephant Program Managers at AZA-accredited zoos are graduates of the AZA's required Principles of Elephant Management training course.

Private Elephant Ranches and Accredited Zoos Are Different

Zoos and private elephant ranches (also known as sanctuaries) are both places where elephants can live with assistance from people. Both manage and care for elephants by providing food, water, care and shelter.

Private ranches do not provide freedom, since active human management, including barriers and fencing, is required in the non-native habitat of North America. While they often provide more acres, these private ranches are not required to meet the requirements for on-site veterinary care and enrichment activities that come with AZA accreditation. AZA accreditation standards exceed the USDA standards for elephant care regarding facilities, veterinary care, husbandry, management, and education.

But AZA accredited zoos differ from these private ranches in other important ways:

Zoos are open to the public and are committed to helping people learn about elephants through a number of education programs and exhibits. Private elephant ranches are just that, private, and are generally closed to the public.
Zoos meet the conservation test by providing extensive support to international conservation research programs that help elephants in Africa and Asia. Private elephant ranches do not provide meaningful support for elephant conservation.
Zoos have carefully planned elephant breeding programs, which not only help build the North American herd, but also provide scientific knowledge to assist wild population. Private ranches do not conduct meaningful scientific study or breeding programs.