00:01It's a new beginning for Julie, Portugal's last circus elephant, as she settles into life at a wildlife sanctuary in
00:09Aletejo, southern Portugal.
00:12Believed to be the last wild animal remaining in a Portuguese circus, Julie was transferred from the Victor Hugo Cardinale
00:20Circus through a voluntary agreement.
00:23She's slowly adjusting to her new surroundings.
00:37Julie was shy. We need to accept it's like anyone that arrives to a new place, who knows nobody and
00:44does not know the surroundings.
00:45Slowly around one week later she started trusting and deciding what she wanted to do outside.
00:50There are a lot of trails, even if it was thicker, it was twice than it is now.
00:57So she has been cleaning the house, and in this case, making it her own house.
01:06Portugal banned wild animals in circuses in 2018, with the law taking effect in 2024 to allow time for transition.
01:15Now this new sanctuary aims to provide a safe home for elephants in need, welcoming animals from circuses, zoos and
01:23other facilities across Europe.
01:24I think it's massively important that somebody did what we are doing, that somebody created an elephant sanctuary.
01:33There's more than 600 elephants in Europe, Asians and Africans, and, you know, a percentage of those are not in
01:40ideal conditions.
01:43Pangaea hopes to expand its sanctuary, creating a safe haven for between 20 and 30 elephants in need across Europe.
01:51That's a lot of things.
01:55Thank you very much.
