Samba, France’s last circus elephant, has found a permanent home at Richter Safari Park in Nagykőrös (central Hungary), wrote the park in a statement.
After several months of preparation, the 38-year-old African elephant arrived in Nagykőrös a few days ago, making the drive-through safari park the second place in Hungary, after the Nyíregyháza Zoo, where both Asian and African elephants can be seen. An adult African elephant is approximately six meters long and weighs three tons, requiring special transportation and constant medical supervision, they wrote.
They added that the 32-hectare safari park, which is home to around 400 animals, most of which were rescued from circuses, already has three other elephants, including Brigitte and Nelly, who also came to the Nagykőrös safari park from French circuses.
The statement quotes József Richter, the owner of the safari park, who said that one of the main goals of opening the park was to place animals retired from circus work in a natural environment.
The Nagykőrös drive-through safari park is the only place in Europe where we rescue and rehome circus animals, and it is also my personal mission to provide a suitable home for elephants,”
he emphasized.
“In recent years, our park’s reputation has spread throughout Europe, and in May, the French Cirque Europe contacted us and asked us to take in the animal,” added Richter, who also said that the elephant had undergone a veterinary examination and a general health assessment.
This weekend, on World Animal Day, Richter is organizing a charity run to support African elephants still living in the wild.
According to the statement,
the three-kilometer-long safari route, which visitors could previously only travel by car or the park’s small trains, will be transformed into a running track on Saturday.
The park’s owner will double the amount raised from the race entries and use the money to support the HERD elephant orphanage foundation set up to save African elephants.
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Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay
The post France’s Last Circus Elephant Finds Freedom at Richter Safari Park appeared first on Hungary Today.
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