Last elephant at South Africa's national zoo released into a reserve from a group for the protection of wildlife rights, AFP reported, quoted by BNR.
The group also said they are urging the only other zoo in the country that houses this breed of elephant to do the same.
The 42-year-old elephant, named Charlie, was taken out of the National Zoo in Pretoria and transported to a reserve in northern Limpopo province, where he was released on August 19 by the EMS Foundation.
This came as a result of years of negotiations with the South African government, which was provided with scientific evidence that elephants were suffering in zoos, the foundation said in a statement.
Captured by his herd in Zimbabwe when he was about 2 years old, Charlie was sold to a circus to perform tricks, and in 2001 he was transferred to the Pretoria Zoo.
„The science is unequivocal that elephants are defined by space and should not be in captivity,” said executive director Michelle Pickover.
The only other zoo in South Africa with elephants is the Johannesburg City Zoo which has 3. We are suing Johannesburg for them. "Charlie's release doesn't necessarily mean the government has decided to stop all elephant displays in its zoos, but it doesn't appear to have any plans to acquire more," she added.